Racing Through The Country
by TheBananaChild
Summary: Cruz Ramirez is beginning her racing career. However, when she is given the chance of racing in the Production Car Series, she decides to give it a shot. In any type of racing, anything can happen. As Cruz begins her journey, what will she endure when she tries this new type of racing? Will she decide to leave Dinoco and the Piston Cup? *Will try updating as much as I can*
1. Prologue

**Update: I'm so sorry I deleted this off of my stream. However I thought I made a mistake, but I didn't so I'm posting it again. (lol) I apologize for any inconvenience.**

**~TheKingDinoco**

**Author's Note: So I've decided to do a fanfic about Cruz doing a different type of racing called Street Stock Racing. However, it's mainly known as Production Car Racing. I've done some research and I'm hoping I've got everything right. Please bear with me on this fanfic because I don't know anything about this type of racing so if I make a mistake here and there, I apologize. Aside from that, I will be updating this story whenever I can because I will be returning for classes soon. I'll try to update whenever I can because I will have to work harder. Reviews and comments will also be a big appreciation so don't feel afriad to post. I love receiving reviews and comments as they will keep me motivated to write the story. Anyway I hope you enjoy my fanfic. Sequels for this story are pending as I'm still trying to figure out where I want this story to go after I'm finished.**

* * *

**Prologue **

**During the Racing Off season- Nice, France- Brisbane, Australia**

He traveled all over the place, searching and searching for a racer. Ever since Leland's racer had been seriously injured in an accident on the track during the previous season, he had been scrambling trying to find a racer to fill in for him and it wasn't easy. Everywhere he tried, he had been denied. From teams to sponsors, Leland had a feeling he would never find a racer. He frowned with concern as he left his next stop.

"I'll never be able to find a racer. But I need 4 racers, not three. I've been searching forever and still nothing." Worry was plain simple in his voice, aside from the concern. He decided to head for home and call it day.

"I've looked everywhere and still nothing. Hmm, the only other option I have is traveling to the United States. Although, the results will probably be the same. But I guess it's worth a shot."

"Mr. Scott, anything you want to eat?" Leland's housekeeper called out from the kitchen.

"No thanks, Lauren. I'm fine." Leland called back. He continued to sort through papers and get everything ready in case he had a chance of finding a racer. He was hoping that somehow he would finally be able to end the constant search.

_Maybe I'll accept Tex's invitation. I'll probably have a chance of finding a racer. Yeah, smart idea. I'll travel to the United States. Okay Leland, let's catch a flight for the United States. _

The next day, Leland had managed to book a last minute flight to the United States. He was hoping for the best and braced himself for what would come.

* * *

**Miami International Airport- Miami, Florida**

The plane finally landed in Florida. Leland headed from the airport to his hotel he had booked the day before flying off. He was going to go to the Florida International Speedway to see the opening race of the Piston Cup. His friend, Tex Dinoco, had invited him over and since he was having trouble finding a racer for his team, Leland decided to go and maybe have a chance of finding a racer. Checking his calendar, Leland nodded and agreed to keep his schedule clean for the race.

"I'm sure I'll find something here." Leland told himself with determination in his voice. Gently smiling to himself, the billionaire business car and racing team owner headed for his hotel, and began to prepare for the race the following day.

* * *

**February 16- Florida International Speedway- Daytona Beach, Florida **

Leland headed over to the racetrack to see the race. Now was his chance to look for a racer. He already knew what he had to explain, he just had to hope he would get his request answered.

"Now's my chance." Leland said, while he took a deep breath and headed toward the Dinoco booth.

**So I think this is a pretty good start to open up my story. I had a different prologue for this, but i had to delete it and I didn't like how I wrote it so I'm glad I actually had to delete it. Don't forget to write reviews and comments. They'll always keep me motivated while I continue writing the story. **


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Disney and Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

**Chapter 1 **

**Florida International Speedway- Daytona Beach, Florida**

It was a bright and sunny day in Florida. A large crowd was gathered in the stadium, cheering and hollering at their favorite racers, wanting them to win the first race of the season. Tex Dinoco watched as Cruz Ramirez, his star racer, plow through the rest of the next gen racers. To him it was no surprise that she would always get the media's attention. From winning a race, to losing, to getting a faster lap record each time, there was nothing Cruz could do to avoid the media.

As the cameras continued rolling, a silver 1973 Vauxhall Victor FE rolled into the Dinoco booth. Smiling, Tex approached his visitor.

"Leland! Come in."

Leland Scott rolled over to him and parked himself in front of the large window. The billionaire business car and racing team owner watched as the 43 racers raced through the speedway.

"I'm glad your here." Tex replied, smiling at his friend.

"Me too. I can't stay long though. I'm heading back to France tonight. Flight leaves promptly at seven so I have to make time to get there cause there might be a lot of traffic."

Tex nodded in agreement. Florida was an attraction state for tourists and there was always a lot of traffic, especially at night.

"So, how's everything going back home for the Larrousse Racing Team?"

"It's going okay. However the team's in jeopardy for a reason. You see one of our racers is out for a while. He suffered a severe injury while racing last season and unfortunately he's going to be out all of this season so I need to find another racer in the time being. And I've been impressed with Miss Ramirez's racing so well so I was wondering if maybe, she can come to France to race for a while. I don't want to force you though. At this time I can understand why you would want to say no. Most racers want to win the first few races once the new racing season starts, and I know that around this time you guys are focusing on that. It's just that I've been struggling for a while to find a racer."

"Oh...ummm...I don't know. I'll have to see what she thinks."

Leland nodded in understanding. He had a feeling he already knew the answer to his request. Just then, a loud roar arose from the crowd. Leland and Tex looked out just in time to see Cruz cross the finish line. Leland smiled, happily with impression.

"Well, looks like another Piston Cup is now in her wheels." Tex replied.

"Yeah. I'm really impressed with her racing. I think she'll make a great racer for my team."

"Well, I guess then your free to have her. Let's just ask her before we jump to any conclusions."

Leland nodded in agreement. He finally had a feeling that maybe his request was answered.

**I know I didn't say this before, but I didn't want to make my introductory notes longer. I'll be asking for feedback and comments every now and then so I'd appreciate it if you comment. All feedback means a lot to me because it makes me feel that everyone is enjoying the story. Anyway I hope you like it so far even though it's only the first 2 chapters. Also sorry if the chapters seem a little short, I will be trying to make them long as much as I can. **


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. This is for entertainment purposes only. **

Chapter 2

Cruz and her racing team were celebrating in Victory lane. She took a photo beside her trophy and took a few interviews from the press. After they finished, Cruz headed back to her trailer when lightning called after her.

"Cruz, Tex wants to see you in the Dinoco booth. He just phoned me. Someone named Leland wants to see you as well."

Cruz looked confused. She was never asked to go inside a private booth, which meant it must be something serious and important. However on the other hand, she was beginning to feel bored with the Piston Cup and she was hoping that maybe after this meeting, something would come up for her. Something challenging, exciting, and competitive. Nodding in agreement, she headed straight for the Dinoco booth with Lightning, the rest of her team on her tail. When she got there, Tex was there waiting, along with Leland.

"Hey Tex. What's up?"

"Lightning, Cruz, this is my friend, Leland Scott. Leland, this is Cruz Ramirez, my racer, and Lightning McQueen is her crew chief."

Once introductions were take care of, Leland began speaking.

"I'm the owner and crew chief of the Larrousse Racing Team. I'm interested if you and your racing team would like to come and race in France. The reason I'm asking is because one of our racers suffered a serious injury during last season and he's going to be out for the rest of this season as well. I need someone who can race for us pretty much throughout the year. I also spoke to Tex about it and he said you'd be more than happy to come."

"Well, I think you are correct about that." Replied Lightning. "Cruz just said she's getting bored with the Piston Cup."

Tex gasped in shock. He couldn't believe what he just heard.

"Wait, your leaving Dinoco!?"

"Relax everyone. I'm not bored with the Piston Cup. I just want a challenge and do something different for a while. The Piston Cup isn't even competitive anymore. It seems that everyone only wants fame, winning, and trophies. I'm looking for competition, challenges, the works. I just want to race with competition."

Much to Cruz's response, Leland smiled. He knew exactly that this type of racing was for her.

"Well, you won't be disappointed Miss Ramirez. The type of racing we do in France is really cool."

"What type of racing is it?" Asked Cruz.

"It's Production Car Racing, but it can also be known as Street Stock Car Racing." Leland explained. "I figured you might be the answer as well because I have to be honest with you, I'm really impressed with your racing. You have a lot of experience from the way I've seen you."

"Oh, well, thank you." Cruz replied happily. She never expected a car from France to come all the way here, offer her a spot on their racing team, and then compliment on her racing.

"So, are you and your racing team up for it?" Tex asked.

"I'll take it." Cruz replied.

Leland smiled happily. He had finally found his racer for the rest of the season.

"What's this piece of paper for?" Cruz asked.

"That's the contract you have to sign for me if your going to join the team. I gave it to Tex earlier so he could give it to you if you were interested." Replied Leland.

"What about costs and expenses for traveling?"

"All expenses are covered on me." Replied Leland. "I'll make sure to book your flight as well. It leaves at 11:30 AM."

"Thank you." Replied Lightning.

"I guess we'd better start packing then." Replied Cruz.

"I agree. Let's go."


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Disney Pixar. All OCs are mine. No copyright infringement intended. For entertainment only. **

Chapter 3

"Do you have everything you need?" Asked Lightning.

"Yes. I do. You know they have stores in France just so you know." Replied Cruz.

At the motel, Luigi, Guido, Ramone, Fillmore, and Sheriff were packing up. Tires, a drill, fuel, paint, intercoms, and anything extra were being packed up as well.

"We look like we're going away for a while." Replied Ramone.

"It's just a few things. Then again we are going to be away for pretty much the entire year." Replied Luigi.

"How's packing coming along?" Asked Lightning. He had finished packing his own stuff and came out to check on everyone else.

"Everything's going well." Replied Ramone.

"This is going to be fun." Replied Cruz. She was really excited about this new type of racing.

"What is this new type of racing your doing exactly?" Asked Luigi.

"Leland said it's called Production Car Racing. But it's also known as Street Stock Racing to. To be honest, I've never heard of it myself."

"Neither have I." Replied Ramone. "I hope your not giving up the Piston Cup though. Tex really likes you and our team. He'd flip out if we told him we were leaving."

"Don't worry. I haven't retired from the Piston Cup. I just want a challenge and competition on a track. Everyone seems to want fame and trophies now. I want something different." Replied Cruz.

Glancing at his phone, Lightning quickly broke up the conversation.

"We should get to the airport now. Leland said the flight leaves at 11:30 and it's already 10:00."

"Alright. Let's go." Replied Cruz.

* * *

**Los Angeles International Airport- Los Angeles, California**

**10:30 AM **

By the time Cruz and the rest of her racing team arrived at the airport, security checks began. Cruz wasn't a fan of flying and security checkouts weren't her favorite thing. But she knew it was for the sake of everyone's safety so she couldn't complain. When everyone was cleared by security, they waited in the designated spot where they would be called for their flight to France.

"Where are we landing once we get to France?" Asked Cruz.

"We're going to Nice International Airport. So we're going to Nice, France."

"Cool. I always wanted to know what France was like." Replied Cruz.

"You did?" Replied Ramone.

"Yeah. But as soon as I started racing, I knew I wouldn't have time. Now's my chance."

Soon, the speaker came on.

"Good morning ladies and gentlecars. Flight number A8798 for Nice, France is ready to board. Please head to the gate and have your tickets ready for boarding."

"Where are the tickets?" Asked Cruz.

"I got them right here." Replied Lightning. "They came in the mail early this morning." He began distributing the tickets and everyone began to head to the gate to board the flight.

"Tickets please." Replied the boarding gate attendant. One by one, the entire Dinoco team handed their tickets to the attendant and were allowed on the plane. Once everyone was settled down, the flight attendant came on the intercom.

"Good morning ladies and gentlecars, our flight to Nice, France will be departing shortly. Please remain in your seats during the flight and thank you for choosing European Airlines. Enjoy your flight."

Cruz settled into her seat next to Lightning. She watched as Lightning reviewed the plans they had made once they arrived. Luigi and Guido were settling in for a nap, and Ramone opened up a book to read. Since there wasn't anything else to do, Cruz decided to get out a mystery book she had packed. Lightning glanced at her, sighing.

"Is that all you read?"

"Yes it is. I love mystery. The twists and turns and the art of it all comes together and makes it so interesting. I just love the way mysteries are."

"Maybe you should look into art." Replied Luigi, he briefly woke up from his nap and removed his sleeping mask.

"Since when did you wake up?" Lightning asked.

Cruz couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "As if I would be interested in that topic."

"You can't stay on one topic though. Just wait Lightning, soon she'll be into another topic in time." Replied Luigi.

"You shut up. I suggest you go back to sleep before I pounce on you!" Cruz immediately threw Luigi's sleeping mask back on him and pushed him back into his seat. Rolling his eyes, Luigi returned to his nap. Lightning couldn't help but laugh quietly.

* * *

**Nice International Airport- Nice****, France 9****:30 PM France time**

Cruz and the rest of the team finally arrived in France. It was a long flight, but soon they had reached their destination. Leland was there, waiting in the group of cars who were getting their loved ones.

"Cruz." Leland called out from the group of cars. Cruz and her team headed toward Leland. Since it was close to being late, he decided to have everyone stay in a hotel nearby and then in the morning, they'd head off for the Larrousse Racing Headquarters.

"Since it is getting late, we're staying in a hotel. It's not far from here. Just stay close to me and you'll be okay."

"Okay." Replied Cruz.

Leland escorted the team to a nearby hotel. It was only a 10 minute drive from the airport. Everyone checked in and headed to their hotel rooms. To make it easier to locate everyone, Leland had everyone sleep on the same floor of the hotel, yet in different rooms.

"I want all of you to be up by 7:30 AM sharp." Leland replied.

"Yes, Leland," the entire group replied in unison.

"Very well. Goodnight and I'll see you rested up and ready tomorrow morning."

**So this chapter is a little longer which I'm happy about. I hope your enjoying my fanfic so far. I'm excited about writing the racing parts and I'm also excited putting more insight into Leland's character, along with you reading the story. Stay tuned for more chapters. **


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 4

**Westminster Hotel- ****Nice, France ****6:00 AM**

Dawn broke across France with orange, yellow-like skies. Purple and pink colors followed along, making the skies look like a neon horizon. Cruz felt the morning sunrise on her hood and coming toward her eyes. She squinted and tried to cover the blanket over her.

"Ugh, I hate it when the sun gets in my eyes." She complained to herself and struggled to keep the sun out of her room. She glanced at the clock and sighed.

"Only an hour and a half to go." She replied.

"Hey Cruz!"

"Huh?"

"Cruz, it's me, Luigi."

"Oh. What are you doing up early? We have an hour and a half left before we meet Leland."

"Sorry, I woke up a little too early but I wanted to know if you have food on you. I'm a little hungry."

Cruz sighed. "Sorry I don't have any food with me. Now please go back to your hotel room. I don't want you to get in trouble and I'm tired."

"Okay. Sorry."

Cruz waited until she heard the door of Luigi's hotel room open and then shut again. She sighed and finally managed to go back to sleep.

**7:30 AM **

The sound of Cruz's alarm on her phone immediately sounded like a real alarm. Screaming, she turned her alarm off and got up from bed. Then, her phone rang. It was Lightning

"Hey Cruz. Glad to see your up right on time. Leland said he wants all of us to meet him at the breakfast hall once we wake up so this way he can make sure we're all with him and then he's going to let us get a quick breakfast before we head to the headquarters. It's a while for a drive so he wants us to be full of energy."

"Okay. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Yep."

Cruz organized her stuff and headed out toward the hotel breakfast hall. She was hungry and despite not eating at all, she couldn't wait to get her delicious, mouthwatering food. She quickly grabbed her stuff and headed toward the breakfast hall.

"Cruz, over here!" Leland called out to her, while waving his tire at her. She nodded and signaled him and approached where her team was.

"Okay, is everyone here?" Leland asked.

"Yes. We're all here." Everyone replied.

"Good. Alright so here's what we're going to do. For a little bit, everyone can grab a bite to eat. Once everyone is finished eating, we will head back to the racing headquarters. It is a 30 minute drive so I want everyone to be fueled up and ready to go."

"Yes sir."

"Alright. You may grab your plates and begin to eat." Leland replied, as the group began to break up.

"So much good stuff here. I wish we could stay here more." Replied Ramone.

"Pfft. I bet Luigi and Guido will love it more than you do. They're hogging the fruit area." Cruz laughed and watched as the two Italian friends buzzed around with excitement, begging for a fruit salad for each of themselves.

"Luigi, Guido, settle down please." Leland replied, while holding his plate of food and serving himself a few pieces of pineapple, "I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Sorry." Luigi replied.

Just then, the sound of broken glass echoed throughout the room. Leland turned around to see who was responsible for the mess.

"Oh crap. I did not do that. I swear it wasn't me." Cruz replied as she moved away from the noise. Later on, it was revealed that someone had accidentally knocked over a glass that was on the edge of a table and didn't realize it until it shattered. Immediately, the cleaning crew began to clean up the mess before anyone got glass in their tire.

Cruz finished filling up her plate with her meal and headed back to her table. She sat next to Lightning on one side and Leland on her other side. Everyone began to eat. Conversations were going on here and there, but everyone was focused on timing and they had to get to the racing headquarters soon.

**8:30 AM**

An hour later everyone was finished with their meals. Leland double checked to make sure everyone was still with him. After he checked, he lead the way toward the racing headquarters.

"These streets are hard to drive on. They're so narrow." Cruz replied. She struggled and tried as much as possible to not get herself into an accident with another car.

"I know. These streets can be tough to drive on sometimes. Just stay close to me and you'll be okay." Leland calmly assured her.

Leland led them to a traffic light which was red at the moment. As they waited for the light to turn green, an ambulance and a police car went by, both of their sirens wailing. Once the light turned green, Leland honked his horn to signal everyone that they were able to move. The journey was a long one, but they were almost there.

"We're almost there." Leland assured the rest of the team. Now he began leading them through a real estate property. As they drove on, Leyland turned into another lot and stopped.

"We're here." He replied.

Everyone glanced up at the big building. On one side of the building, a huge sign with the racing team's logo was displayed. Cruz couldn't believe the size of the building.

"Wow." She gasped, "This doesn't even look like our own racing team headquarters."

"Yeah. Your not kidding." Replied Lightning.

"Yep. It's a beauty alright." Leland replied.

"So what are we waiting for?" Replied Sheriff, "Let's head in."

"Yes. Let's go. Follow me." Leland said, as he escorted the team into the building.

**I'm starting to enjoy writing this story a lot. I like the way it's coming out. Soon I'll publish the chapters once I feel like I've written enough. **


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs are my characters and property. **

Chapter 5

**Larrousse Racing Team Headquarters- Nice, France 9:00 AM France time **

Leland escorted the team into the huge building. Large glass windows were on the roof, causing all of the sun to come in and shine down on them. At the front desk, a secretary was working and filling out paperwork.

"Hailie, would you mind showing Luigi, Guido, Fillmore, Sheriff, Ramone, and Lightning to the waiting area while I show Cruz around the building? They already had breakfast so they just need to get settled in."

"Of course sir." Hailie replied, while she slowly rolled out from behind her desk. "Follow me guys."

Once everyone was taken to the waiting room, Leland began showing Cruz around the building.

"What do you think of the place so far?" Leland asked.

"It's really cool and interesting. At Dinoco headquarters, we have a lot of floors and windows. It's really big, but not as big as this building is."

Leland chuckled. "Yeah that's what everyone says. To be honest it is a beauty, but it takes a while to figure out where to go. Come on, I want to introduce you to the other racers on the team."

Leland escorted Cruz into a room. The doors were soundproof so this way no noise would be able to escape. Three racers were on their simulators while a forklift focused on the monitors connected to the simulators. One racer, Jamie, was focused on his task. The forklift signaled Jamie to stop and once he did, Leland headed straight toward the monitors.

"How's it going?" Leland asked.

"He's doing fine. However we're still handling the simulators and we're having minor errors with them."

"A minor issue during training can cause serious problems on race day." Leland frowned seriously, unsatisfied with the training procedure. "I don't want anyone leaving this room until that issue is fixed. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes sir."

Leland turned toward Jamie. He was taking a quick drink after training for two hours straight.

"Jamie, this is Cruz Ramirez."

"Hey Cruz." Jamie replied, smiling, "We've heard a lot about you."

Cruz smiled in return. She enjoyed her teammate and it seemed like she was going to enjoy her time here. She couldn't wait to start racing, even though she knew some changes would have to be involved.

"Cruz, this is our team manager, Morris." Leland said, indicating toward the forklift who continued monitoring the screens.

Cruz nodded to the forklift and watched as Jamie continued racing. Then, Leland escorted her over to another racer, Misti.

"Misti, come over here. I want you to meet someone."

"Coming Leland." Replied a female racer. She had just finished her training and would now be heading to the cafeteria for a quick breakfast.

"Misti, this is Cruz Ramirez, your new teammate." Leland said. "I know she's a lot like you so I'm hoping you both will get acquainted."

"Hey Cruz." Misti smiled at her teammate, "I've heard a lot about you. Welcome to the team, I hope you like it here."

"Thank you." Replied Cruz. "I'm sure I will."

Just then, someone else bursted into the room. It was another racer.

"Morris, I'm so sorry I'm late. But the route I usually take was chaos. Some idiot truck decided to go on a highway and I don't know why, because he's not allowed on highways and he spilled a load of metal pipes-." The intruder paused right away as soon as he saw Cruz and Leland.

Leland glared sternly at the racer. "This is the fourth time you've been late this week, Connor. You know very well that I don't tolerate lateness."

After a few moments of silence, Connor spoke again.

"I'm really sorry Leland. I'll be on time tomorrow. I promise."

"You said that yesterday. Seriously Connor, you live 30 minutes away from our headquarters. Misti and Jamie live farther than you and yet they're able to get here on time. If they live an hour away and can get here on time, then you should be able to get here just as easily as they can. No other boss would tolerate your habit of being late and I don't tolerate it either. It isn't fair that your letting Misti and Jamie do most of the work and think that you can come in late. Connor, you know full well that this job is serious and it's about time you start treating it with seriousness and respect! You need to change your attitude now and if you don't start, I will seriously review your contract! Now get your tail on that simulator! You are to not leave this room until your fastest speed record is up to date!"

Sheepishly, Connor headed onto his simulator to complete the assignment Leland had given to him. Cruz watched as he began racing on the simulator, then glanced briefly at Leland, who was keeping a close on him. She felt bad for Connor and despite being at the headquarters for only a while, it was now obvious that Leland's gold ribbon racers were Jamie and Misti, while Connor remained in second best with them. And now to her, it seemed that Leland was a harsh chief and overseer. Leland's personality was similar to Tex's. Business-like and serious. To her it seemed Leland matched that personality. Tex however was loyal in some ways though and he wasn't as harsh as Leland. After a few minutes of watching the three racers, Leland motioned for Cruz to follow him.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Leland apologized once they left the room. "I know my personality sounds like I'm a harsh chief to you, but Connor was asking for a piece of my mind. As I constantly remind everyone, there is no easy work in this sport. You need to be consistent and work very hard to be your very best on race day. I know it's hard, but this sport is competitive as you'll see later on, but it's a must and I want all of my racers to have the fastest lap records ever. Now come with me to my office. I want to talk to you about some changes we'll have to make and then I'll phone the officials."

Once Leland and Cruz were inside Leland's office, Leland began to explain the changes and modifications that they would have to make on her in order for her to race.

"So apparently, the changes will be minor because in Street Stock racing, engine modifications are not allowed and we have to restrict the modifications on suspensions, aerodynamics, brakes, wheels, tires, and power trains. We will also have to place roll cages on you for safety precautions, including engine displacement.The only thing we can pretty much change is the paintwork and logos. We will also have to change your fuel over. I'll phone the officials now and they'll discuss more of the rules and modifications with you."

Cruz sighed. She wasn't looking forward to the modifications she would have to deal with, but she knew this was part of the contract she had sighed and this was part of the rules for this type of racing. It was also part of the contract she had sighed for Leland. As Leland began the conversation, Cruz began to think about the adjustments she would soon be making.

_"What did I get myself into?" _She thought to herself.

**Finally finished another chapter. Woohoo! I'm on a roll with this story. I did a little research on this type of racing because like I said earlier, I don't know anything about this type of racing. However I don't want to go too savvy because anyone can change the information so I'm trying to put in what I can find, but I'm definetly making sure it makes sense in context. I hope your enjoying it so far. Probably I'll write a few more chapters before I publish this and then update it. **


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs are mine. **

Chapter 6

**FIA Headquarters- Nice, France **

Cruz and Leland arrived at the FIA headquarters where the officials agreed to meet them. It wasn't far from the racing headquarters but it was still a lengthy drive. They were going to discuss the rules and modifications in detail more.

"We're going to wait for the officials in the lobby." Replied Leland. "I gave them your records during your racing in the Piston Cup so they need to review it and they'll discuss the fuel change process as well. I'll need to witness the modifications though. It's a requirement so this way nothing illegal happens and then we end up in trouble if the officials find something that's against the rules."

"Okay." Replied Cruz.

A few minutes later, two officials, black and white approached Cruz and Leland.

"Mr. Scott, as you know, we reviewed Miss Ramirez's record from her Piston Cup racing and obviously she's a great racer. However as the requirement, we will have to do modifications on her so she can race with the other Street Stock racers. First, we want to talk to you about the modifications. We know Leland talked to you about it before, but we want to talk to you as well so this way we can go more in depth with it and we want you to have a better understanding of what we're going to do."

"Okay." Replied Cruz.

"So for the modifications in general, we have certain restrictions which Leland did tell you. However we will explain some of them since this is the first time your changing racing codes."

"May I ask, what is an engine displacement?" Cruz asked.

"In this type of racing, engine displacement is important because the higher the engine displacement is, the more power it can create. It also impacts on increasing the fuel efficiency. Aside from that we also need to discuss the fuel change. In the Piston Cup, you run on E15 right?"

"Yes."

"Well, you will have to change to a higher fuel, I'm afriad. This one is E85. We use this fuel because it raises horsepower and it helps the racers go faster."

"I'll leave you alone to do that." Leland intercepted in the conversation. "Fuel changes always make my engine feel uncomfortable. Although I know I'm required to watch the modifications."

"Right." Replied the official. "Okay so we're going to do the modifications first so this way we can get that over with. Right this way Miss Ramirez."

Cruz obediently followed the officials inside a room where the modifications would take place. This would take sometime and it would feel numb for Cruz. At least for a little bit.

"We'll save the best part for last since it's better if we start with the harder stuff." Replied the official. Cruz nodded in agreement.

Soon, the adjustments were made on Cruz. She felt a little numb from all of the adjustments she had. The official eventually had to sedate her so she couldn't feel anymore numbness.

A while later, a familiar voice filled the room.

"Cruz, wake up."

She woke up to the sound of Leland's voice. He was in front of her along with the two officials.

"Get away!" She snapped. Leland couldn't resist chuckling a little.

"I like feistiness in a racer. It tells me that you have what it takes."

"I feel so numb." Replied Cruz.

"It'll wear off after a while. We can give you a painkiller if needed." Replied the official as he handed a file to Leland.

"For now, you may go back to your hotel and get some rest. I'll talk to Lightning about the modifications and then we'll go from there."

"Okay." Replied Cruz, and she headed back to her hotel.

* * *

**Larousse Racing Team Headquarters- Nice, France**

"Lightning, a word please." Leland called out.

"Sure." Replied Lightning. He drove toward Leland who still had the file in his tire.

"So, I took Cruz to have the modifications done. We already did that. I sent her back to the hotel so she could get some rest. However, I want to let you know what the changes were since we know from Cruz's Piston Cup records that you are her crew chief. So the modifications we did are restricted because of the rules but we did have to make them in order for her to be able to race with the other Street Stock Racers. Now, we did add some new equipment such as roll cages and harness. Of course this is required by the FIA. The other modifications were also changing the paint and of course, we will have to change her fuel later on. I'll be calling the team doctors to come and assist with that."

"Okay, good." Replied Lightning.

"We will discuss the races after we get Cruz settled and all of her modifications are done."

"Will I be her crew chief?" Lightning asked.

"I'll have to say no because you don't know anything about this type of racing. We will provide someone for her. I'm not saying your not a good crew chief, but I just want to keep her safe. Since she's not my racer as well, I don't want Tex yelling at me if she gets hurt."

"I understand." Replied Lightning.

"For now, let's grab some lunch and then we can just take the rest of the day off."

"Okay, sounds good to me." Lightning replied, his engine rumbling for food. "I think my engine is telling me to hurry up and get it fueled up."

Leland couldn't help but chuckle.

**Okay, so I'm doing the best I can with this story and make some sense of what the racing is. I hope I got most of it right so far since this is the first fanfic I had to do research on. I hope everyone enjoys the story so far. Don't forget to leave behind reviews and comments. I would highly appreciate it. I'm actually doing pretty well with this fanfic and I love the way it's going. Anyway I hope your enjoying it. One more note before I forget in case anyone wants to know what FIA stands for, it means International Automobile Federation, which is a governing body for many types of racing. **


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs are mine. **

Chapter 7

**Larousse Racing Team Headquarters- Nice, France 10:00 AM France time **

The next morning, Cruz arrived later at the headquarters. Leland had told her not to come early in case the numbness hadn't gone away yet. She came into the building and saw Leland talking to Misti.

"Morning Cruz. How's are you feeling?"

"I feel a little sore, but other than that I'm fine."

"We can give you a painkiller if needed."

"So, what's the plan for today?"

"Well, unfortunately we're going to have your fuel changed over. You didn't have any breakfast did you?"

"No. You told me I couldn't eat last night. So I didn't want to. But I figured that's why I couldn't eat, because I had to have my fuel changed over."

"Exactly, because that's what we're going to do today. Our team doctors, Andrew and Finn, will be changing your fuel for the races. One of the officials will be joining you as well."

"Okay."

"Mr. Scott!" A loud voiced echoed through the hall. Leland turned around to see who had called him. Andrew appeared not long after.

"Hey." Replied Leland, "I thought you were coming later."

"No. Finn wants to get this done and over with and so do the officials."

"I see. Cruz let's go. It looks like they're expecting us now."

Cruz followed Leland, Andrew, and the official upstairs to a fuel changing room. Finn was already there, preparing the fuel changing process.

"I'll leave you four on your own. I don't like fuel changes because it bothers my engine and it makes me feel uncomfortable." Leland replied, as he reversed out of the room and left for his office.

Groaning, Cruz went over to the fuel tank that was full of the E85 fuel. It was very uncomfortable and Cruz felt like she was going to throw up. Fuel changes were not her favorite and this type of fuel was going to be hard for her. E15 and E85 fuel were really different. E85 fuel was required for all of the Street Stock Racers because it would help increase their horsepower and it would help them go faster as well.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Cruz replied.

"Your lucky I have a strong tank." The official muttered under his breath.

Andrew pushed a tray in front of Cruz while Finn continued transferring the fuel. Cruz began choking and gulping a little, and could feel the contents in her tank beginning to come in, forcing her to vomit. She tried as best as she could to hold it in until the change was complete.

"Ok. We're done." Replied Finn as he removed the tube from Cruz's gas tank.

Immediately after hearing the words she was desperate for in a while, Cruz hurled up the contents of her tank into the tray. This happened for a few minutes and Cruz wasn't sure how long she could cope with it. After a while, Cruz felt herself calming down. She breathed calmly and ended her moment.

"Feeling better?" Asked Andrew.

"Yeah, a little."

"We'll let you go back to the hotel for some rest." Replied the official. "I'll escort you if you want if you feel that you can't drive."

"Yeah. Can you escort me please? I'm still sore and I don't think I can drive back on my own."

"Sure. I'll let Leland know."

"Thanks."

The official escorted Cruz back to her hotel. She wasn't feeling well and no one wanted to take the chance of her getting hurt. It was still new for her and it would take some time for her to adjust and get use to everything. However, Cruz was a tough cookie and she wanted to show Leland that she was born to be ready and born to take any challenge that came her way. When she arrived at her hotel, she went into her room and began to rest. Leland would be discussing the races with her as soon as she was fully recovered from her operation.

* * *

**Larousse Racing Team Headquarters- Nice, France**

Jamie and Misti were on their simulators training hard for the upcoming race. Leland had decided not to have Cruz race with them because he still needed to talk to her about them and the rules. If there was one thing Leland didn't want his team to do, it was getting fined for a silly mistake and it was his job to make sure he explained the rules to Cruz.

"How's it going you two?" Leland asked, without looking at them while he looked through a file.

"It's going well." Replied Misti. "I just hope we'll do well in qualifying."

"I'm sure we will. As long as we remain focus on our task."

"That's true Jamie, but you both must remember that you have to do your very best if you want to get good spots during qualifying. This sport isn't easy and you know I expect a lot from this team." Leland firmly reminded them.

"We know." Replied Misti.

**Another chapter done. I'm so excited about writing the racing parts. Believe me this isn't easy at all. First of all, I'm writing on a certain type of racing that I have no knowledge about, second the research is taking sometime to work on, and third I'm trying as best as I can to make sure it makes sense in the context of the story. Clearly, I'm going to try my best on the racing rules and qualifying parts so hopefully it'll be okay. Don't forget to write reviews and comments. I always appreciate them and any review I receive on any of my fanfics always**** motivates me to keep on writing. **


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 8

**Motor Speedway of The South- Nashville, Tennessee**

Ever since Cruz Ramirez had started racing in France, the media began fussing over her. Many questions were beginning to fly from the media to Cruz's sponsor, Tex Dinoco and most of them were focusing on this specific question, would Cruz be leaving Dinoco and the Piston Cup for good?. Surely, Tex didn't want Cruz to leave Dinoco. She loved it too much to leave it for good. The other main question that flew around was, who was going to race for Dinoco while Cruz was away? Tex wasn't sure who he could find as a temporary racer, but the season was only beginning and before Tex could snap like that, the playoffs would be coming closer so Tex knew he had to hurry to find a racer and fast.

"Mr. Dinoco, can we ask you a few questions please?" It was the voice of Shannon Spokes, one of the RSN crew members.

"Sure, but please make it brief. I have a press conference I have to attend and it'll be starting soon."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Shannon begins her interview.

"What are the plans for team Dinoco now that Cruz is taking some time racing in France?"

"We're still trying to find a temporary racer, but I'm not sure what else we're going to do. I know it's only the beginning of the season, but that time will come quick. Honestly, I hope Cruz decides to stay in the Piston Cup Circuit and she also decides to stay on team Dinoco. But on the other side, it's her choice and I can't tell her what to do."

"What final decision will Cruz make once her contract with the Larousse Racing Team ends?"

"Like I said, it depends on what she wants to do and who she wants to stay with. Leland is a good friend of mine, so I know she'll be fine with him. Alright no more questions, please. I have to head to the conference now." And with his final answer of the interview, Tex drove toward the podium, where the press conference was going to take place. He had been asked about other updates ever since Cruz had started her racing career in France.

* * *

**Larousse Racing Team Headquarters- Nice, France 8:30 AM France time**

Leland had everyone come in really early the following morning. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but there was a lot of things the team had to discuss if they wanted to be their very best on the day of the race.

"Alright, everyone settle down, please." Leland called out. "I know the time is early and I know everyone isn't really awake yet, but I'll need some cooperation from everyone. Okay so to start off, I have the time records for Jamie, Connor and Misti's qualifying and also the time when they did their practice rounds. As far as I'm concerned, Misti your fine. But as for you on the other note Jamie, you need to be more consistent. I don't know what's going on with you this year, but you need to shape up now and I'm serious. We will discuss this later once we're done with everything and I've spoken to Cruz about the races and the rules that apply to them. Connor, your fine as well. Second, as you know, we are now close to the major races in the season then we will have the championship, which ends the season. As you know from last year, we will have to work harder and that means all of you will have to have to push yourselves. Alright, I think that's everything. Cruz, come with me please. We need to discuss the races and the rules so this way, you can race with Jamie and Misti. Morris, please keep an eye on Jamie. I'll call you when I'm ready to see him and Connor, see me when I'm done with the two of them. We need to discuss this race in Paris that you want to participate in. Everyone else, get back to work."

"Yes sir," The entire team replied in unison.

Leland left the conference room, along with Cruz following behind him. They made their way toward Leland's office, which was neat and organized, and displayed an amazing view of the French city.

"Alright, as you know, these races are very important in Street Stock Racing, which is why I wanted to talk to you about them before I let you race. So the major races are the Bathurst 12 Hour, Bahrain 24 Hour, Dubai 24 Hour, and the Malaysian 12 Hour. Because these races are so close to the beginning of the season, it is really important that everyone focuses on their task and all of the racers are consistent. It's also important that you understand the rules and regulations you'll will be expected to follow when you begin racing. As for the rules as follows, you have to stay behind the safety car. No passing unless they give you the free pass. If you pass under the yellow flag and you weren't given the go ahead, you'll receive a penalty and a fine. Pit row speed is 35. If you exceed that speed limit, you'll receive a penalty and you'll have to restart from the back, as well as doing a pit stop for the penalty. For the ranks of these races, you'll be spilt up depending on your performance. Since all of our racers are EP, it does seem that you would be in the same class but because you are a rookie, we're looking at FP. So that's all we have to cover. Now I want you to start training and we will head out to Australia shortly."

"Yes sir." Cruz replied and began to start training on her simulator.

"Morris, I'm ready for Jamie now." Leland called over his radio.

"Right away sir. I'll send him over to you." Morris's voice replied through the intercom.

"Cruz, I want you to do at least an hour and a half of training on the simulator. Then I want you to grab yourself some lunch and then meet the rest of the team for a meeting. Leland will want you to go to bed early though. We will be booked for an early flight to Australia, so we need everyone to be there right away." Her crew chief Roger, ordered.

"What time do we need to be there?"

"Leland will give you the time when we meet. Now go get some lunch."

"Yes sir." Replied Cruz and she made her way to the cafeteria.

"Hey Cruz." Misti greeted her rookie teammate while she was preparing her lunch from the kitchen.

"Hey." Cruz smiled back in response. "What's on the lunch menu?"

"Salad and sandwiches again I'm afriad." Misti's voice had a tone of annoyment in it.

"Seriously?" Cruz rolled her eyes. "Why can't we have anything else besides that?"

"All of us are on restricted diets because we have to be healthy for race day. We can only eat what Leland and our crew chiefs give us. No sugar is allowed unless we're in the off season because, it can raise our RPM's really high and that's not good. If we end up eating sugar, Leland can tend to yell at us and he'll push us to do more training than we were meant to do."

"That's so unfair." Cruz replied. "I can imagine how Leland reacts to it."

"Yeah. You'll see it eventually." Misti said and she sat down at a table and began to eat her lunch.

Leland came in the cafeteria a few minutes later. He had come by to get a cup of coffee for himself and a few other team members.

"Misti, are you done yet?" He asked

"Just about sir. Are we having the conference now?"

"Yes. Throw out your stuff and head up to the conference room please."

"Yes sir."

"Cruz, are you done eating?"

"Yes Leland. I'm finished."

"Alright. Head up to the conference room please. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Misti and Cruz headed up to the conference room right away. They came inside to find everyone getting set up. Files, paperwork, sketches, data, and outlines were filling up the large table quickly. Morris was there, conducting the arrangements for Leland.

"Cruz, Misti, there you are. Leland's just getting some coffees and then we can start the conference."

"Okay. So what do we have to discuss today?" Cruz asked curiously.

"Well, we have a lot of things, that's for sure. Not sure how much, but Leland will give us a better summary of what we have to do."

"Alright, we have the sketches sorted out along with the data."

"Great, thanks." Replied Morris. "Now, where's Leland with the coffees?"

"Right here." Leland called, entering the conference room. He was carrying several trays of coffees along with packs of sugar and a small pitcher of milk.

"Let me help you." Replied Lightning.

"Thanks. I'm scared I'm going to spill everything so a lending tire will help."

With Lightning's help, Leland began distributing the coffees and soon the conference was ready to start.

"So, as you know we are close to starting the season with the major races. Now there some things we have to go over. But the most important thing we should focus on is strategy. But let's go over the data we have. Morris, please give us a brief summary of what we have."

"Of course sir. So for Jamie's times, he was really great and consistent. So I expect to see you do the same on the track. For Misti, her times were skimpy at first, but now I think she'll be fine. And for our newcomer, Cruz, her times were impressive. Same report for Connor as well."

"Excellent. However I'd focus on Misti with her times and statistics." Leland replied firmly.

"Of course sir. I'll make sure she keeps them that way." Morris replied.

The conference continued for about another hour and then, Leland ended with a reminder.

"Don't forget, we have an early flight for Australia tomorrow. Everyone has to get up at 7:00 AM sharp, otherwise, you will miss the flight and there's nothing I'll be able to do about it. It's your responsibility to be here on time. We will be leaving for Austrilia at 9:00 AM. Alright, I think that's everything. Goodnight and I'll see you up bright and early in the morning tomorrow."

**First chapter that's really long lol. All the other chapters are 1,000 words and a little above or below that. I'm trying to limit the amount of words as much as possible, but I also want to include as much action as I can. Anyway, I hope your enjoying the story. I can't wait to write all of racing action. Also please keep on posting reviews. Any of them will always motivate me to write more.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 9

**Westminster Hotel- Nice, France, 6:00 AM France time**

Dawn broke across France the next morning. The sun was shining brightly outside and Cruz could feel it on her hood again. She growled in frustration.

"I hate the sun so much." She replied through her anger.

"Cruz, are you up?" Asked Luigi.

"Yes I'm up. What do you want?"

"Lightning said he wants everyone to get up now. He was told by Leland to get everyone up."

"It's not 7:00 yet. We're suppose to be up at that time."

"We are?"

"Yes, now go back to sleep." Cruz waited for Luigi's hotel room door to close once it opened. After she heard the door shut, she went back to sleep.

**7:00 AM **

After the alarm went off, Cruz woke up. She had to be on schedule if she wanted to head off to Australia for her first race. Since Leland was strict about being on time, she was determined to not let him scold her. Connor wasn't good at keeping track of time so sometimes he ended up being late and Leland would not be happy with him.

Sighing to herself, Cruz woke up and left her hotel room. Leland had sent her a message asking everyone to meet him in the breakfast hall. She messaged him back and told her she was on her way. Checking to make sure everything was all neat and tidy, Cruz locked up her hotel room and headed for the breakfast hall. When she got there, she saw the team already filling up their plates. Leland was parked at a table and eating his breakfast.

"Hurry up Cruz. We have to get to the airport as soon as possible. The flight leaves at 9:00." Leland replied. "Oh and make sure you have a light meal, I don't want you to put a lot of energy on yourself."

"I know. I'll just get something quick." Cruz said, as she began to fill up her plate. She saw Jamie, Connor, and Misti at one table while her pit crew and the rest of the Larousse Racing Team were at another table. She quickly finished filling up her plate with her meal and hurried over to where the rest of her teammates were parked. She was about to eat her meal when all of a sudden, Jamie burped.

"Jamie, stop that's disgusting." Replied Misti. She held up her tissue in front of her mouth with her tire. Jamie couldn't help himself and started laughing. That is until Leland, heard him fooling around.

"Jamie! Enough of that nonsense! Say excuse me and show some decorum in public. We're not a bunch of animals. We're a professional racing team and no one will view us with dignity and respect if we go around doing disgusting stuff and not using table manners."

"Fine. Excuse me, I'm sorry." Jamie apologized. Leland nodded in approval and continued to eat.

Once everyone was finished with their meals, Leland escorted them to the airport. It wasn't a long trip but they had to get there as soon as possible.

"We're almost there." Leland called from the front of the group. "Stay with me please."

"I'm so excited. I can't believe I'm traveling all over the world." Cruz replied happily.

"You'll have a blast in Australia then. It's one heck of a ride." Replied Connor.

* * *

**Nice ****International ****Airport- Nice, France 8:00 AM France time**

The team had managed to arrive at the airport an hour before their flight to Australia would be leaving. Everyone was cleared from the airport security officials and waited in the area where they would board their flight, tickets ready to go.

"Does everyone have their ticket?" Leland asked.

"Yes," the entire team replied in unison. One by one they all displayed their ticket and Leland nodded his approval.

"Hey does anyone have food? I'm hungry." Jamie asked hopefully.

"Oh no. Absolutely not. No snack is allowed before a race. You know that." Replied Jamie's crew chief, Roger.

"He's right. You know I don't allow any of you to have a snack before a major race." Replied Leland.

"Ugh. Fine." Replied Jamie.

Just then, the intercom through the airport went on and a female's voice came through.

"Flight number A9870 to Bathurst, Australia is ready for boarding. Please have your ticket ready and head to the boarding gate."

"Alright let's go everyone." Replied Leland. He escorted the group to the boarding gate while they prepared their ticket.

"Welcome everyone. Tickets please." Replied the boarding gate attendant.

One by one everyone handed their ticket to the attendant. Once they were given the all clear, they headed inside the plane and parked themselves into a seat. The flight would be a while so they had bought books, sleeping masks, and bottles of water to drink. Cruz had packed some of her mystery books to read since she was a mystery fan. Some even found it insane and thought she was crazy for liking mystery books, but Cruz didn't care. Looking through her stuff, she finally found her book and began to read.

"Mystery fan, huh?" Jamie asked curiously.

"Yep. I love mystery." Replied Cruz.

"Do you ever read anything else besides mystery?" Connor asked. "My mom says mystery isn't healthy cause you get too interested in these tragedies."

"I don't care what your mom says." Replied Cruz. "Now let me read my book."

"Ooooh, feisty girl." Jamie teased.

"Hey!" Leland snapped angrily, sending a glare that caused Jamie to hunker down lower on his tires.

"Sorry. Sheesh." Replied Jamie.

During the flight, all of the racers had decided to take a nap, that is except for Cruz. She was too busy enjoying her book to be tired. However, almost everyone else took a nap. The flight was long and at times, someone would get impatient.

"Ugh! Who is crazy enough to go this far for a race?" Lightning asked.

"Not use to flying this long, huh?" Leland asked, sending a wink at him.

"No. We travel with transporters and the distance is far, but not so much."

"I see. Well all of you will have to get use to this cause it's a lot of travel for us. But I'm sure you will." Leland assured him while taking a sip from his coffee, which he had purchased back at the airport. Lightning sighed and then managed to fall asleep. Leland couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Finally after flying for so long, a voice came over the intercom.

"Ladies and gentlecars, we are approaching our destination Bathurst, Austrilia shortly. We will be landing shortly. Thank you for your patience."

"Finally." Replied Lightning. After flying for a long time, he felt like it wouldn't end. But he had managed to be patient and now he would finally get to be on asphalt again. The plane began to land and the team had finally arrived at their destination.

"Alright, we're here. Let's go!" Leland called out.


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs are mine.**

Chapter 10

**Brisbane Airport and Brisbane Hotel- Brisbane, Australia- Day 1 **

Cruz and the rest of the team had finally arrived in Australia. Leland escorted the rest of the team off the plane and through the airport until they were outside.

"Wow. This is completely different from France." Jamie replied in awe.

"No kidding. It's better." Misti stated. "My brother comes here all the time and he likes it. Although sometimes the weather can be annoying."

"Alright, let's get moving. We need to check in the hotel, then we can grab some lunch and then we can begin to go over the plans for the races." Leland called out.

"Sounds good to me." Replied Cruz, sending her new team boss a wink. Leland smiled slightly, then turned his attention back to the group.

"Look at this place." Lightning gasped in awe.

"This doesn't look like Italy at all." Luigi replied.

"Si." Guido nodded in agreement.

Throughout the journey to their hotel, Lightning and Luigi couldn't help glancing all throughout the streets of Australia. Cruz was impressed with it as well. However she had to pay attention to what Leland was telling her. He was telling her what the plan at the racetrack was going to be once everyone got settled in at the hotel.

"So, what exactly are we going to do?" Cruz asked.

"We're going to be in Australia for a few days. There are three parts for all of the races. The first few days, we will be practicing for qualifying postitions. These are 3 rounds. The second part is the race itself. So qualifying is when you will earn your position for the race. However tonight, they will have opening ceremonies to welcome all the racers who will be competing. There will be another one on the day of the races as well. We will discuss pitstops later on. I know we're in the progressing series for this, but I expect all of us to get in the Championship Series by next year." Leland explained throughly while glancing around to check and make sure he could make a turn, which was part of the route to get to the hotel.

"Okay." Cruz replied, following Leland to make sure she was able to stay close to him.

A while later, Cruz and the rest of the Larousse Racing Team arrived at their hotel. It was a beautiful luxury-like building. Glass windows were filling in, giving the sun lots of room to fill in the inside of the building. Inside, several chandeliers were hanging on the ceiling. Well dressed cars were in formal bow ties and paintwork, serving refreshments and showing other cars to their hotel rooms.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Leland asked. "Let's go and check in. Then we can settle in our hotel rooms and discuss the pitstops for the race."

* * *

**Hilton Brisbane Hotel- Brisbane, ****Australia **

After checking in and getting a hotel room for themselves, everyone began unpacking their stuff and decided to rest for a bit. Leland and Morris had to sort through all the paperwork so it would be a while before they could go over anything. Cruz, Lightning, Luigi, and Guido went over to the breakfast hall to grab something to eat. They were tired and extremely hungry after their long flight. Cruz filled her plate with fruit, pancakes, and bacon. Lightning glanced at her plate briefly.

"Light meal, Cruz. Leland wants his racers to be fit and healthy before a race."

Cruz sighed. She knew she had to be calm and be mindful of what she could eat. Sighing, she placed the bacon back, and went with the fruit and pancakes.

"Better?" Cruz asked.

"Yes, better." Lightning replied, while taking a bite of his pineapple piece.

A while later, Leland and Morris had finally sorted out the data and pitstop strategies. It would be a long conference and they would need some cooperation.

"Morris, go and find Cruz and the rest of her team please. I'll go and find Connor, Jamie, and Misti. It's time to go over the plans for the race, qualifying, and the development race."

"Yes sir. I'm on my way." Morris nodded in agreement and left the hotel room. Morris headed towards the breakfast hall of the hotel, since he figured that's where Cruz would go since she was tired and hungry from their long flight. And he was right. He found Cruz parked at a table along with Lightning, Guido, and Luigi parked with her.

"Cruz, Leland is ready to go over the plans for the races and qualifying rounds."

"Okay. We're almost done. We will be there in a few minutes."

"Leland wants us there urgently. But make it quick. You know how he is with tardiness and lateness."

"Never mind. I'm done with what I had." Cruz replied, as she dumped the rest of her meal in the garbage.

"Alright. Let's go. Leland's waiting for us."

In Leland's hotel room, everyone gathered around the table to discuss the plans they had. There was a lot of stuff to go over and they still had to get ready for the ceremonies that would be taking place tonight in the ball room of the hotel. Placing a file aside, Leland glanced up at everyone, and began speaking.

"Alright. First thing is, all four racers will be required to race in one of the development series. Meaning, Cruz and Misti, you will be racing in the first one and Jamie and Connor, you will be racing in the second one. So I know that all of us are professionals, but we ended up being in this part of the Street Stock Racers because we still need to work on a few areas, Cruz is also not an EP so she will have to learn how to get in the highest ranks of this sport. But of next year, I expect at least almost all of you to make it to the Championship Series. Second, we have our pitstop strategy planned out for both qualifying and the Bathurst 12 Hour. As of now, we will be hoping for a safety car around lap 40 and lap 60. Since qualifying is only around 30 laps, we won't be having a safety car. The race itself, however, will be 170 laps. Qualifying, now I expect everyone to at least be in the inside of the top ten. We have three rounds of qualifying so we should be able to make a gap where all of us can be in the top ten grid. Okay, anything else I missed Morris?"

Morris nodded and then began to make his own notes. "One more note I need to make. Since this is the first major race of the season, you will need the amount of protein that we give you. Light meals will be enforced for the next few weeks. If we see that anyone is not making good progress with their protein amount, we will have no choice, but to disqualify you from racing."

"Morris is right about that so I hope all four of you listen to him." Leland intercepted into the conversation. "Also, if Morris or I see any of you get a hold of a sugary treat or your getting too hard on your meals, we will have to give you protein drinks, protein drips, protein shakes, and your meal options will be more restricted. Do you understand?" Leland sternly glanced at his racers seriously.

"Yes, Leland," The four racers replied in unison.

"Good. So, I think that's everything. All of you may get some rest now. We have a long night ahead of us so I want everyone to feel well rested when we go to the ceremony."

A while later, Cruz returned to her hotel room to get some rest before the ceremonies would start. She wanted to look her best for the occasion. She was about to head down for some rest, when Lightning bursted into her room.

"I'm sorry I have to bother you now, but I'm afraid we've received a last minute notice."

"Oh, what is it?"

"Apparently, the ceremony wants you to perform at the ball tonight and at the opening races. They already know your Hispanic so I don't think you'll have trouble with that, will you?"

"I don't think so. But, why me?"

"Wish I knew, but hurry up. We only have an hour left before we have to go to the ballroom." And with that, Lightning left the hotel room.

Cruz didn't have much trouble to come up with something for the ball. It was easy in all honesty and Cruz knew she would give an awesome performance at the ceremony. In less than an hour, she had worked something out and everyone was excited to see what she was going to do.

"Cruz, let's go! Leland is waiting for us and he won't like it if we are late." Lightning called out.

"Coming!" Cruz called back and in no time, she came out of her hotel room, all covered in Spanish colors. The flag of Spain went across her body on both of her left and right sides. Spain's flag was also on her paintwork and several streamers were also plastered on her.

"Wow, you look amazing!" Lightning exclaimed in awe.

"Well, you didn't expect someone like me to not have Spain's flag, right?"

Lightning chuckled. "Right. Now let's go before Leland comes looking for us."

Lights, music, and lots of different colors swarmed the ball room of the hotel. All the racers were from all over the world, mostly New Zealand and Austrilia. However one racer was from Italy, another one from Paris, and another one was from England. Cruz didn't mind and she did want to try a different form of racing for a while.

"Lightning, Cruz! There you are. I was looking all over for you." Leland drove over toward them, while holding a coffee cup and his cell phone in his tire.

"Sorry, I had to get ready for my performance for the ceremony tonight." Cruz replied.

"We're staring soon. However, refreshments are being served now. And Cruz, light snack, please."

"Yes sir."

Cruz began filling up her plate with refreshments. She remembered to be careful about what to eat, since she would be preparing for her races and practicing for them starting tomorrow. Leland was very strict and thorough about what his racers were allowed to eat. The only food they were allowed to eat was what they had at the racing team headquarters. However, when they went around the world to race, Leland would supervise the amount of food the racers got, along with Morris helping him out. It was their job to make sure they didn't get carried away with their meal.

After the refreshments were served, the organizer of the event, drove up toward the podium and began to speak. Press members from around the world were there, preparing their cameras, recording devices, and microphones. Cruz glanced around to see if there were any press members from the United States, but no one was there.

"Welcome to the opening ceremonies for the Brisbane Hotel. It is an honor to have racers from the world staying here as they will be preparing for the opening race of their racing season, the Bathurst 12 Hour. I'm very pleased to see so many of you here tonight and I offer all of the racers the best of luck and great effort for their new racing season. With the racers being here, I decided to let them do some performances in the ceremonies. So without further or do, representing the Champs Élysées Racing Team, please welcome racer number 18, Amber Raincart."

Cheering and holler followed after a race car appeared. She was the colors of the French flag along with a gold yellow logo that had the racing team she was racing for. Cruz glanced at her as she faced directly at the cameras and press members. She looked proud and didn't seem to care about anything or anyone other than herself. Misti leaned in next to Cruz and whispered to her.

"Stay away from her. She's just a spoil brat."

"Why. What did she do?"

"She's mean. Honestly, she hasn't done anything mean to me, but from what I know, her sponsor is mean as well. So, just stay away from her."

Music followed as each racer came in front of the press members. Different dances and beats filled the room. Cruz's performance was a blast and everyone found her performance to be better than all the other performances. However, only one car didn't find her performance the best, and that was Amber. The festivities wore on for another hour until things began to simmer down. Leland took the rest of the Larousse Racing Team back to their hotel rooms and had ordered them to wake up early the next morning. Tomorrow would be another busy day for everyone.

**So here's another chapter done. Hopefully the racing parts will be just as long as this chapter was. I will be writing another chapter before I publish this along with the other chapters I published. Also don't forget to leave a review and comment. They're always appreciated and keep me motivated to write the story. I hope you like it. **


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

**Note: I apologize for suddenly deleting the story from my stream, but I thought I made a mistake. Fortunately I didn't, but I'm also glad I did because, I did leave a line out (whoops) anyway everything is fine and after doing a little more research, I found out that one of the races is in January, but I can write about it when I work on the sequel of this story when the season starts again. That was the main reason why I took it down. Anyway I apologize for any confusion. Thank you for your patience.**

**~ TheKingDinoco**

Chapter 11

**Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathrust, Australia Day 2 **

The next morning, the Larousse Racing Team headed out to the racetrack to practice. Even though the race wasn't until a few days later, Leland still wanted to get some time in to practice and then prepare for the first qualifying session, which would take place later today. Morris was in charge of looking over the statistics while Leland would be taking care of other things.

"Alright, Jamie and Connor, let's get you ready for some warm ups then, I want you to relax and cool down before the first round of qualifying starts." Morris instructed the two racers, while he skimmed through several files.

"Okay." Both racers nodded in agreement and headed onto the track for their warm ups. Misti and Cruz were inside the pit garage, preparing for their turn once Jamie and Connor were finished. An official appeared in the garage a while later along with a clipboard and a checklist.

"Leland Scott?" The official called out.

"He's not here. What do you need?" Morris asked, driving toward the official.

"I'd like to go over some paperwork with him. Then I need to make sure all of the racers are clear on their fuel. I know you race by the rules and don't sneak anything illegal in, but we just need to do these checks regularly from time to time because in some cases, one of the teams will complain if they see that another team is getting better and successful during all of the qualifying rounds. I'll also need to check the garage as well. So this way, we can claim that nothing illegal is found and then the teams won't have to complain anymore."

"I see." Morris frowned seriously. Without a second thought, he messaged Leland to come to the pit garage.

Leland arrived a few minutes later after receiving the message. He was carrying a file with his tire when he entered the garage. The official immediately saw him, and drove toward him to explain what he was going to do.

"Mr. Scott. We need to do a thorough search in your garage, as well as making sure all of your racers are clean with their fuel. Like I said, I know this team races well and doesn't sneak anything illegally in here, but we need to do this regularly and we also don't want to receive complaints from other teams."

"I understand." Leland firmly replied, shuffling the files between his tires. "Jamie and Connor are out on the track to practice before their first round of qualifying, but they'll be done soon."

The official nodded, then waited in the corner for Jamie and Connor.

"If you want, you can check over Cruz and Misti while you wait." Leland said, pointing to the two racers with his tire.

"Sure. I guess I can do that. Misti and Cruz, come here please."

Misti and Cruz obeyed the official and drove toward him. "Open your hood for me." The official ordered. Misti and Cruz opened their hoods, while two forklifts who happened to be another official, inspected both of the racers. They checked to make sure the connectors were working, the cables were in the appropriate spot, and everything was in proper order. Fuel samples were also taken from them and a thorough search through the garage began to occur. Jamie and Connor drove into the garage and stopped. The officials were there waiting for them.

"Jamie and Connor, open your hoods for us please." The official ordered. Jamie glanced anxiously at Morris for a brief moment before receiving his signal to focus on the official once more. Reluctantly, Jamie obeyed the orders and the officials began their checklist. Fuel samples were taken from the racers and then the officials gave them the all clear."

"We'll give you the results as soon as we get the report back." The official told Leland. He nodded in approval and with that, they left the garage area.

"How's everything going?" Leland asked once the officials left.

"Everything's going well. Although for Jamie, his time isn't consistent enough as it should be."

Leland frowned seriously. The type of look he had when he knew his team should be doing better. He glanced at the times Jamie had and then shook his front in disappointment. "This isn't good enough. Make him do it over."

Jamie began to protest. "But Leland, I-"

"Jamie, you'll do as you are told to do!" Leland snapped, while sending his racer a sharp, cold glare.

Sheepishly, Jamie obeyed the racing team owner and went back to the track to redo his statistics. This time, Leland would keep an eye on the consistency of the results so Jamie knew he had to do really well.

"Is he ever satisfied with anything?" Cruz whispered to Misti.

"If things go his way, then he's happy. But if not, then he won't be happy at all. We've had to learn to just get use to it so now we're use to getting complaints and all that. I know it doesn't seem that Leland doesn't care about us doing our best, but he does. He just wants no less of his team so he knows what he expects us to do and we know as well. It's just common for him to give us tough love sometimes. I know your not use to it though with your sponsor back home, huh?"

"No. Tex is always fair and all that. But he can be serious as well and he tends to make sure business is getting done so he's tough in some ways. But not like Leland. I don't even know how he feels about it personally."

"Well, he cares about this team a lot and he wants everyone to be happy. Then again, ever since he found out we weren't going to make it in the Championship Series this year, he's been pushing us a lot harder because he wants us to get in next year. That's why he's being so strict and serious this time. I mean he's serious all the time, but this time it's increasing more and more. He just wants us to get to the high rank listing by the time the season is over."

Cruz was about to respond, until a voice rang out.

"WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON WITH THESE TIMES?!"

Cruz and Misti turned around to see a furious Vauxhall Victor FE at the computer, along with Morris. Obviously, Leland hadn't moved a tire from the garage and it was clear he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

Misti sighed quietly. "Here we go again."

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't know what's going on with these statistics." Morris tried compromising as much as he could, but the team owner was in no mode for excuses.

Leland scowled, and at this point, Morris knew he couldn't argue with him anymore. He watched as Leland called Jamie over his radio.

"Jamie, come inside the garage and see me. Now!" Leland ordered furiously.

Nearly an hour later, everything had finally been resolved. It turned out that the computers weren't working properly and that had caused Jamie's stats to glitch and eventually, they weren't at the appropriate setting they should've been on. Leland had left and went for a drive to cool himself down.

"Okay, while Leland is cooling down," Morris said, "Let's pack it in for the day. We can continue tomorrow. Goodnight and I'll see you tomorrow morning."

**That's the second chapter I just finished typing. Currently in my time, it's the morning so I'm almost close to starting my school classes for the day. Hoping I can write another one today, but I have some assigments to finish after school so I'll see. Anyway I hope your enjoying the story so far. Don't forget to leave a review. Also a quick note. In the previous chapter, Cruz was going to have a crew chief, but Roger is actually Jamie's crew chief. Which means, Leland will be her crew chief for now. I apologize for that mistake and I hope I've cleared that up. **


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 12

**Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst, Australia Day 3, Part 1 **

Cruz headed down to the track to get in some time for qualifying. Since everyone was tired and Leland had been frustrated and stressed out, everyone went to get some rest earlier than they would. Hopefully, everyone would be calmer today.

"Morning Cruz." Morris greeted, adjusting his headset.

"Morning. Where's everyone else?"

"Some are still sleeping late. However, I wanted to make sure you were able to get your times in for qualifying. Misti is on her way, but you can start now."

Cruz headed onto the track, while Morris began to tell her what to do. Even though she wasn't familiar with the turns in this track, she was able to be consistent enough. Hopefully that would calm Leland, and it would prevent him from getting frustrated again. Morris instructed Cruz to come back to the pit garage so they could go over her times and stats.

"I must say, Cruz, you were outstanding out there. Morris complimented. "For someone who doesn't know those turns on a track like this, you were awesome. I'm sure Leland will like this, since he had a rough day yesterday."

"But isn't he only happy when things go his way?"

"That's true. But when something happens that's good, it'll make him happy and all he wants for everyone is to do their best. I know he seems like a hard taskmaster, but it's for everyone's good and it keeps things running smoothly. That's probably the reason why we're so successful. Even though he wants us to get into the Championship Series next year."

"Yeah, I can understand why he can be like this."

"Hey guys. I'm here." Misti called out, while she was holding her cup of tea. "What do you have for me today, Morris?"

"I want you to go out on the track and get some times in for qualifying. We will find out what position you'll get after the officials analyze them. So, just go out on the track and I'll let you know when you've done enough."

"Yes, sir." Misti nodded in agreement and went onto the racetrack. She began to start off easy and then once she was ready to go faster, she pushed as much as her engine would let off. Her times were really well and Morris had been giving her several compliments all throughout the time she was on the track. Once there was enough data for Morris to look over, he signaled her to stop, and called her on his radio.

"Misti, that's enough. Come in the garage and cool off for a bit, while I look over your time and data."

Misti pulled into the garage area. She went toward the fridge and pulled out a fresh, cold can of coolant. She settled down once more and began to relax. She watched Morris look over the data and her times when all of a sudden, a loud voice rang out.

"DON'T TALK TO ME. I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!"

Cruz turned toward Misti. "Who was that?"

"Don't ask. It's just Amber probably. She's always having arguments with her crew chief. Surprisingly, when the car departed from the garage area, Misti realized that it wasn't Amber, but it was another racer. An Italian racer, Giulia.

"Sorry. Wrong car. But stay away from that one as well. She's just as worse as Amber is."

"Why are these girls so nasty?"

"Well, you know what they say, the girl is always asking for girl power."

Cruz frowned in disapproval. In the Piston Cup, you had to work with your team. You couldn't argue with your pit crew, crew chief, or sponsor. It was all about teamwork and nothing else. If you argued, then it wouldn't get you anywhere. Cruz knew that for sure and Tex had mentioned it many times. Leland agreed with Tex on that statement. He was always strict about everyone working together and when someone didn't, he wouldn't like it at all. Everyone was suppose to work together as a team and doing their task. However, sometimes it was true and most racers didn't know about teamwork or being a good sport, and she would have to learn to accept that. Morris glanced over to where the two racers were, drove toward them, and began speaking.

"So, Misti, I looked at the results and in my estimation, you'll probably start in sixth place. As for you Cruz, you'll probably start in fifth place. Unfortunately, Jamie and Connor, did not make it in the top ten so it's up to you two to make sure your keeping the team on the leaderboard throughout the race."

"I don't think Leland will be happy about that. Will he?" Misti asked, nervously.

"No, probably not Which is why I'd better give this to the officials now before he sees it, even though I know he'll probably see it when they show it on the starting grid during the race. In the meantime, grab yourselves a little something to eat. I'll be right back." And with that, Morris left the garage area quickly and headed to the officials.

"Come on. Let's get something to eat, Jamie and Connor are waiting for us."

"I'm ready to go." Cruz replied, following Misti out of the garage area.

* * *

Leland had stayed at the hotel later than he normally did. He was still stressed out from yesterday and decided to wait until the race started. He sighed and left for the racetrack. It wasn't a far drive so Leland had plenty of time to get there before the race.

Once after they had finished their lunch, Jamie, Connor, Misti, and Cruz reported back to the pits to wait for instructions from the officials. Morris approached them, while holding a folder.

"The officials are going to check you thoroughly for anything that may go against the rules. I know we race by he rules, but it's policy rules in the Street Stock Races."

Leland entered the pits, carrying a cup of coffee, as usual. "I'm here."

"Good, we're just waiting for the officials to come and check out the racers. They're doing it for every team to make sure there's nothing they have that's against the rules. If there is, the team will be penalized for it."

Three officials from the FIA, a forklift and two cars painted in black and white paint along with the FIA logo, entered the pits and headed toward the Larrousse Racing Team's garage.

"Here they come. Now guys, best behavior. They're not going to hurt you. They're only checking you and making sure your not carrying anything illegal and that you have all the required equipment on you."

The four racers obeyed the orders the officials gave them. A few minutes later, the inspection was over and they were clear for racing.

"You'll all set, Mr. Scott." The official said, signaling to Leland with his tire.

"Thank you." Leland said, as he escorted Morris aside for a private conversation.

"How's everything going?"

"Well, luckily, Cruz and Misti are starting in the top ten. But unfortunately, Connor and Jamie are starting outside of the top ten. I already told Misti and Cruz that it's their job to make sure our team stays on the leaderboard throughout the race."

Leland frowned with concern. "Make sure they stay in the top ten and, I want to see them being consistent at the same time during the race."

"Yes Leland." Morris nodded in agreement.

The announcer on the speaker came on. "Ladies and gentle cars, please can I have your attention?" The racetrack grew silent and once everyone began to listen, the announcer continued to speak. "Welcome to the first race of the Bathrust 12 Hour. We will be have 2 other races in this race and the first one, will be today. I ask that all performers who are going to be part of the opening ceremonies to please come into the infield of the track and wait for further instructions."

Cruz headed onto the track for her performance. Morris and Leland helped her put on her decorations, although she would have to take them off before going on the track to race. She had practiced her dance a lot and didn't feel nervous at all about it.

Soon, the opening ceremonies began and every racer began to do their performance. They seemed to be better than last night and everyone cheered after each performance. This was over within an hour and finally the race bagan to start.

"Okay, Cruz. This is it. Go out there and show them who you are." Leland said, through his headset. This year, Leland had struggled looking for a few crew chiefs, but the racers were more important. He decided to be Cruz's crew chief, while Morris worked with Connor and Misti, since Jamie had his own crew chief, Roger.

Cruz headed onto the racetrack. The lights went from red, then yellow, and then to green. Once the green lights flicked on, every racecar took off immediately. It was all up to the two girls of the Larrousse Racing Team to remain consistent on the leaderboard. As the race progressed, Misti and Cruz were able to make sure they didn't wreck. However on lap 60, a wreck in turn 3 occurred and three racers had been involved. The yellow flag waved, and the safety car pulled in front of the large group of racers.

"Yellow flag, Cruz." Leland called over on his radio. "Come into the pits. We're going to take four tires and fuel."

"Okay. I'm coming in." Cruz drove into pit road and within seconds, Guido had new tires fitted on her. He was a true master at doing pitstops. The rest of the team gasped in shock. Leland couldn't believe what he saw. He was impressed and knew that this was one talented forklift.

"Alright, Cruz, we're close to going green soon. Just pace yourself until the car leaves the track. As soon as they restart, increase your speed. But remember, as soon as you cross the finish line, don't speed or else it'll cost us a penalty."

"Yes, sir. I'll remain aware of that." Cruz responded. The green flag came back out and all the racers began peeling across the track. Cruz made sure she kept her speed low. Once she did, she was able to increase her speed.

"Nice work Cruz." Leland complimented her on his headset.

Cruz continued racing. She could feel the breeze brushing against her body and it felt good. She couldn't think of doing anything else. Racing was her dream, her only one. All throughout those years she had thought that it wasn't possible for her to race. She had allowed everyone to tell her she wasn't worth being a racer and she had allowed herself to believe it. However thanks to her mentor, Lightning McQueen, she was able to make herself to believe that she was a racer. And now, here she was, racing in a different series with no experience, and she was doing really well for a first timer. Leland couldn't possibly want any other racer than Cruz at this point.

When the last few laps of the race began to come closer, Leland had instructed Cruz to not push herself and at least wanted her to finish in the top ten range. The same applied to Misti. Connor and Jamie on the other note, were in fifth and sixth place. Cruz and Misti, were in seventh and ninth place, so they were all near each other. With a dash and a lash out of speed, Cruz had managed to cross the finish line and win the race. All of her teammates shouted with joy as the huge screens plastered her name, claiming her the winner.

"Way to go Cruz!" Jamie exclaimed happily as he gave his teammate a high five with his tire. Cruz smiled happily, eager to claim her trophy and the checkered flag. She would be celebrating with her team on the podium.

**Another chapter written and complete. I'm sorry I didn't get to post these chapters in one day, I've**** been focusing on my studies and also one more note *inputs drumroll* I'm officially a sophomore in high school. So currently, this chapter is being done before I'm heading to bed. Also, don't forget to post reviews and comments. I hope everyone is enjoying it so far and good news, since I've managed to work out how I want this story to end, sequels will be coming up. As I get closer to finishing this story, I'll probably let some people comment a guess on how the story will end. I'll ask that no one takes a guess now since it's too far away. However, if you want, you can PM me your guess and I'll include your username when I write out the last chapter to let you know if you are correct. Also another note I'll be making, as some of you probably noticed, I've been spelling Larousse this way and before it was with two r's. Pretty much I've forgotten the spelling so for those of you that are wondering how it's spelt, it's Larrousse. I'm sorry if that's confusing, but hopefully I'll try and remember to include two r's.**


	14. Chapter 13

**Sorry it's taking me time to update whenever I can. Been busy working on my studies and homework. Anyway here's another chapter. **

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs are my characters and property.**

**NOTE: This is continued from the previous chapter written. **

Chapter 13

Smiling, Leland pulled off his headset and escorted the team to the podium where they would meet Cruz. "Let's go guys!" He called out as everyone began to follow him.

Cruz, Giulia, and Ronald, were the first three cars to end the race. The track officials presented the racers with their trophies. Cruz received a gold trophy, Giulia received a silver second place trophy, and Ronald received a copper third place trophy. Cruz smiled happily for the cameras and media. She saw Shannon and Kori from a distance. She smiled at them and then answered a few questions the press had asked her.

**Dinoco Racing Headquarters, Dallas, Texas**

Tex has seen Cruz's win on the news the following day. He was really impressed, but at the same time, what if she did decide to race in the Production Car Series. He wanted her to stay with him, the Piston Cup, and the team. He decided to call Cruz and congratulate her on her first win. A few seconds went by. After the second ring, Cruz answered her phone.

"Hello?" Cruz answered once she picked up her call.

"Hey Cruz. I just wanted to call to congratulate you on the win. I saw on the news, so I'm sure the media will be giving you the most attention you've ever received."

"Thanks for the congratulating. I'm sure I'll be seeing that in the papers as well. What's going on back home?"

"Well, I've found another racer. He's not as good as you though. I hope this is just temporary and you'll be returning home soon."

"Yeah, I know. Well I have to go now. Leland wants to have a meeting. I'll talk to you later."

* * *

Cruz ended her call, and then went to the conference room. She drove in and parked next to Misti.

"Where's Leland?"

"He's talking to one of our sponsors. Something to do about taking in another racer. I'm not sure if that's true though. It must be something important though."

"New team member?" Jamie asked, glancing at Misti, while looking through a file Morris had given him earlier.

"He's hoping we can get a new team member next year, that is if we get into the Championship Series. I think we'll have a better chance though."

"Who is our new team member going to be?" Misti asked curiously.

"We don't knew yet. Once the date is close and if we get into the Championship next year, Leland will tell us and the media. He'll expect all of us there though, so no excuses."

"Where is the racer from?"

"Spain."

Leland drove in, carrying two manila folders. He had just finished the phone call with the sponsor. He went to the front of the room, and pulled out the results from the race.

"Alright, everyone give me your attention, please." The team stopped talking, and gave their attention to Leland. Morris joined him and then Leland began to speak.

"First of all, I'd like to offer my congrats to Cruz for her first race win. It is a huge moment for her and we're all very proud of her. Second, we've received some notes from the officials." Leland grew stern as he read the document he received from the officials. "They're putting their tires down and have penalized four racers for not having roll cages and not having brakes that work. We'll have to keep that in mind for the next races we have and we will have to be careful when the Championship comes. We will discuss playoffs once they're almost here. And finally, I've gotten the amount of protein you had, and so far, you're doing well so let's keep it up please. Alright, let's go get some lunch and then, Connor and Misti, you'll start training for the next race you will be racing in. Cruz and Jamie, you can have the rest of the day off."

Cruz decided to head back to the hotel. She was tired after all and she did have the rest of the day off. She deserved to have some rest after her first win for the team. She headed to the hotel room and began to rest for a while.

Connor and Misti were finished with their lunches and headed to the training room to start working. They were assigned to train on their simulators for at least two hours and then, go on their wind tunnels and rolling roads after they were done. Morris would be tracking their speed records.

Two press members, Shannon Spokes and Kori Turbowitz, entered the racing team's building. They were assigned to follow up on Cruz's racing, and wanted to ask questions about Cruz's progress and wether or not the team would get into the championship series next year. They were looking around, when the secretary drove toward them.

"Can I help you?" Hailie asked, rolling out from behind her desk.

"Hi. I'm Shannon Spokes and this is my friend, Kori Turbowitz. We're reporters from RSN. That's where we broadcast our races in America. We've been assigned to follow Cruz throughout her racing career, and we wanted to ask some questions to Cruz and the owner of the team. Do you know who we're suppose to talk to?"

"Ah, yes. That's Leland Scott. He's the crew chief and team owner. He's finishing up a meeting right now. If you want, I'll call him and let him know your here."

"That'd be great. Thanks." Shannon replied, escorting Kori to the waiting room.

In the front of her desk, Hailie placed her headset on and dialed Leland's number. "Mr. Scott, there's two reporters that would like to talk to you and Cruz. Would you please come and meet them?"

"Sure. I'm on my way." Leland replied. He hung up the phone and headed to the entrance of the building.

"Miss Spokes and Miss Turbowitz, you can wait in the front. Leland is on his way."

"Thanks." Kori replied.

"My pleasure." Hailie replied, before heading back to her desk.

Leland approached the two reporters a short time later. He had been on the other side of the building, and it had taken him a whole to get to the main entrance. He didn't really mind having reporters asking him questions every now and then. But this time, it looked like it would be a constant thing now since Cruz had started racing on his team.

"Hello ladies. If your looking for Cruz she isn't here. I had her take the rest of the day off."

"I know you did Mr. Scott. We just want to ask you a few questions."

"Alright. You'll have to wait a while. Cruz is back at the hotel. I'll call her right away." Leland left the two reporters on their own and dialed Cruz's phone. After the second ring, Cruz answered.

"Leland? What's going on?"

"Sorry to bother you Cruz, but there's two reporters that are here at headquarters and it looks like they want to interview us about your racing. You'll have to come down here."

"Okay. I'm on my way." And with that, Cruz ended the call, and headed toward the Larrousse Racing Team Headquarters.

Lightning and Luigi were talking pitstop strategies for the next race Cruz would be racing in after Connor and Misti. Since these races were important, no one could make a mistake. Cruz arrived at the headquarters. Seeing Leland, Shannon, and Kori, she drove over toward them.

"I'm here."

"Hello Cruz. We just wanted to interview you and Leland on your racing career. We are also assigned to follow you while you race."

"Sure."

"Let's go to our conference room. We can talk there." Leland escorted them to the upper level floor of the building into the empty conference room.

"Is it okay if we show this on live TV?" Shannon asked before having her camera set up by her coworker.

"Sure. It's fine." Leland replied, as he parked himself next to Cruz.

Shannon had her camera man set up the camera for her. Leland and Cruz waited patiently, while Leland gave Cruz some tips on answering the questions.

"Just answer as best as you can. Don't say anything that might cause an uproar. Just go basic is enough."

"I know these reporters. They work with RSN. I trust those two only because they know what they should record and what not to record. Almost all the racers want those two to interview them."

"I know, but still, you can never tell." Leland firmly replied. Cruz nodded in agreement and knew he was right. Most reporters just wanted to record almost anything, but those two definitely didn't like it. Maybe that's the reason why they were so successful. Shannon and Kori turned toward the two cars again. Once the light on the camera flicked green, the interview began.

"Cruz, as a Piston Cup racer beginning your normal racing career, it was a surprise to see that you were beginning to race throughout other parts of the world. What do you think you'll do as your new racing career continues?"

"In all honesty, I'm not sure where I'll go after the season is done. It all depends on my choice, but I wanted to try a new type of racing because, I wanted a challenge. Now, I'm not going to make any final descison yet, but I think I might decide to race in this series for a while. But it's still early."

"What made you come here after you were given this opportunity?"

"In all honesty, it was Leland who asked me. He was struggling a lot finding a racer who would race for him. I could tell by the look he had and he was stressed out and tired. I was excited about it as well so that's another reason why I came here."

"Mr. Scott, as a racing team owner and crew chief of the Larousse Racing Team, what do you think the team's chances of getting into the championship series will be for next year?"

"I'm not sure yet. However, we've been working very hard this year and we're determined to make the championship. I think our racers are being consistent and I know they're trying their hardest. I know I'm very harsh, but it's for the team's own good to stay on task. We all want to get in next year, but for now, all we can do is do our best."

"Where is the team's progress so far?"

"So far, we're doing okay. But I want to keep the consistency really high as much as possible." Leland frowned seriously for a brief moment before he continued to speak. "However, one of our racers is struggling and I need to get him back on top. I know we've been doing well, but it's important all of us are on the same page."

The camera light flicked off, indicating the interview was over.

"Thank you. Good luck on the racing. Please keep us updated."

"We will." Leland nodded and with that, the two reporters left the building.

**Finished with this one. I know the first racing part wasn't that well, but I promise I'll get better with this story. The sequel will probably be better though. However I'm doing the best I can with this one. I'm excited about the sequel a lot so I'm excited about continuing this set of sequels. I hope your enjoying it so far. **


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 14

**Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst, Australia Day 3, ****Part 2**

The next morning, the second day of racing continued. Jamie and Misti were getting their final preparations done for the race. Cruz came along to watch and in the following race, she would be racing. Cruz watched as everyone began to finish up on Connor and Misti. Leland drove in, carrying his cell phone and the plans for today's race.

"Alright! Everyone listen up! Today, Connor and Misti will be racing today. After the race, Cruz and Jamie, you'll have a TV interview. So far everyone has been consistent, so keep up the good work. I know we're all focusing on the championship points, but I want us to focus on strategy as well. Okay, I think that's everything. Misti and Connor, get out there and have a great race. Let's do our best everyone! And have a great race day!"

The siren blasted, alerting all of the racers to head out onto the track and prepare to race. Connor and Misti headed onto the track, while Morris and Leland placed their headsets on. Leland would be checking in frequently, to make sure everyone was doing well and no one would lose their behavior while out on the track. Cruz settled down next to Lightning.

"Are you enjoying the racing so far?" He asked.

"Yeah. It's really cool. I get a little break from the same racing I do over and over again."

"Will you decide to race full time next year?"

"Probably. I don't know yet."

"Well, Leland will have to know soon so this way he can make the necessary arrangements. We still have enough time so we'll be okay. But let him know soon."

"I will."

"Yellow flag! They're getting the safety car out!" Jack blurted out over the radio to Connor.

"What are they bringing it out for?" Connor asked.

"There's oil out on the track. It's only for everyone's safety. They're going to clean it up before someone skids a tire in it and then a problem happens."

Leland frowned with concern. "Make sure Connor is careful. I don't want him to go in that oil. Also have him come and pit for tires and fresh fuel."

Jack glanced at Connor's fuel level and gasped. "Oh my goodness! Thanks for telling me Leland. I'm glad you noticed it. If he stayed out any longer, they would've had to stop the field and get him back to the pits." He got on the radio with Connor. "Connor, come to the pits. We're going to give you fresh tries, and a load of fuel. Your fuel levels are starting to get lower. Leland just told me."

"Alright. I'm coming in." Connor came over to the pits in an instant. His pit crew immediately installed new tires and gave him fuel. He sped away immediately, joining the rest of the racers who didn't pit. Meanwhile, the safety crew officials began to clear up the oil spill that was on the track.

"I hope they clean that up well." Leland's concern carried out in his voice.

"Relax Leland. I'm sure everything will be fine once they start racing." Morris calmly assured the team owner.

However he was wrong. The officials didn't do a good job cleaning off the remainder of the oil spill and as soon as the race restarted, Connor slipped his tires in the mess.

"What the- oh you've got to be kidding me!" Connor exclaimed in horror. "I've hit the barrier!"

"Connor?" Jack spoke into his headset as soon as he heard Connor's voice. "What's wrong?"

"I went into the oil. The officials didn't clean it up properly. I'm going to have to come to the pits. While in the process, I hit the barrier."

Leland frowned with concern. "What's going on with Connor?"

"Apparently, he went into the oil because the officials didn't do a good job of cleaning it up. He's also damaged a little from hitting the barrier." Jack replied, while giving Connor orders. "Come into the pits Connor. I'll have your pit crew look at you." Almost immediately, Connor drove into the pits, badly scratched from his contact with the wall. The pit crew assessed to the damage. After a few minutes, they went to report to his crew chief.

"How is it?"

"He's okay, we'll just have to paint over the scratches. However, he's going to have to stay out during the rest of the race."

"Okay. I'll make sure you repaint him before we leave for our next race."

Cruz drove toward Connor. "That looked like it hurt."

"It does. It hurts a lot more if you hit it really hard. Mine wasn't that bad though. However, I've seen some racers get it worse than me."

As the race continued, Misti had managed to finish in third place. Leland wasn't very impressed with how things turned out, but he knew they could do better. Everyone knew this for a fact.

By 6:30 PM, the results were in and the team began to pack up. Leland was going to hold a brief meeting the following morning, since everyone was too tired to focus.

"Are we all done?" Leland shouted above all the noise that was going on around the team.

"Yes, Leland." Everyone replied in unison.

"Alright. Let's head back to the hotel. We can rest for a while and then head to the dining hall for dinner. Don't worry, I made a reservation for us."

**Another chapter written and done. I'm excited about continuing this story, especially the ending and the sequels. Yep, you heard me. Sequels are now going to happen for this story and I'm really excited about writing them. Will start writing the next story soon and I'll let you submit your guesses on how this story will end. Don't forget to leave a review and comment. Hope your enjoying the story so far. Also I forgot to mention this a while ago I'm so sorry. Earlier, I was going to have Cruz stay in France and race, but then I learned that she's going to be racing throughout other parts of the world. But in a way, I guess you can say that she stays in France and then travels from there to race. Anyway I'm sorry I didn't say this earlier but I hope I didn't cause any confusion. **


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Disney and Pixar. All OCs are mine. **

**Just a little note before I continue my story. So as I said before I was going to have Cruz race only in France and then I later realized that she would be traveling to other parts of the country for her racing career. However, I decided that after the second race, Cruz will be heading back to France and will race there for the other playoff races. These are considered the races before the championship race. So hopefully, I cleared that up. Any questions or confusion, you can feel free to PM me and I'll do the best I can to answer. **

Chapter 15

**Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst, Australia Day 3 Part 3 **

The next morning, the team had a brief meeting about the races. So far, the results were okay and Leland wanted to make sure everyone was ready for the final race, which would be The Bathrust 12 Hour.

"Alright, everyone please give me your attention." Leland cleared his throat. The room remained silent and then he began to speak.

"First of all, well done everyone. I'm really impressed with how everyone did this past weekend. With Cruz's first win and Misti's third place finish, we're off to a good start." The team cheered with excitement, happy that they're hard work had paid off really well. Leland signaled for them to calm down and then he continued to speak. "Although, we had a good weekend, we still had one issue that happened with Jamie." Everyone looked at Jamie, who hunkered down lower on his tires.

"It wasn't my fault. They didn't clean up that oil spill very well. If you ask me, we need better officials. They say they're here to protect us, but I'm now convinced that it's a lie."

"I suppose. But next time, Jamie, watch where your going." Leland responded, then continued to speak. "As for everything overall, we had a good weekend. Tomorrow however, we will have to be our very best since it's the Bathurst 12 Hour. Then the following morning, we will leave for our next destination. After our next destination, we will head back to France for the next few races, and then we will leave France and head out for our next foreign country."

The room remained silent for a few minutes. When no one else had any questions or comments, Leland began to speak.

"Alright if there's no concerns, we can resume training. Cruz and Jamie, you are to train on your simulators for at least two hours and then go on your rolling roads for an hour. Jamie and Misti, you are to report to the studio for a TV interview in a half hour. Also one more note before everyone gets to work. We will be monitoring your protein levels, so make sure your going easy on your meals."

The four racers groaned. Clearly Leland was still going to track their protein levels. Then again, they had to remain strictly healthy and Leland was in charge of that along with Morris.

"Stuck with our usual for breakfast and lunch, I presume?" Connor asked.

"Yep. You have to be fit and healthy before a race." Leland replied firmly. "No one is to have a snack or any sugar. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Leland."

Leland turned around and drove toward his office. The four racers went to work on their assignments and tasks. Jamie and Misti went to a quiet place to work on their outlines for their TV interview. Leland would always have his racers write out an outline for their interview and then they would have to show it to him before the interview. Cruz and Connor went to the training room to begin their training session for the race.

"Okay you two," Morris said as soon as the two racers showed up, "Leland wants you to go on your simulators for two hours. After that, we're going on the rolling roads. Go on the simulators now. I'll be tracking your speed." The forklift placed his headphones on and signaled for them to begin.

Meanwhile, Jamie and Misti were writing out their outlines for their interview. They had been working on them for a while. Leland drove in. "How's it going you two?"

"It's going okay. We're just trying to write at least a paragraph. This interview looks like it'll be a long one."

"It is. I wanted to get you a brief one, but it looks like the media really wants to ask you a lot of questions I'm afraid. Make sure I look at it before the interview starts."

"Yes, sir." Misti replied. And with that, Leland turned around and headed back to his office.

"Cruz I know your fast! Go faster!"

"I can't go over 200 miles! It's not safe for me!" Cruz yelled over the loud engine noises she and Connor were causing.

"Just do it for a minute!"

"Fine." Reluctantly, Cruz went over her speed limit. She began to accelerate a little high than normal and began having sick motion feelings in her engine. A warning light appeared on Morris's screen. He rushed over to Cruz and pushed a coolant drink in front of her.

"Your engine doesn't have enough fluid in it. You need to drink."

Cruz began sipping the liquid in front of her and began to feel better a little.

"Better?" Morris asked.

"Yes. Much better."

Morris nodded and then placed his headset back on. "Alright. Let's keep going!"

Jamie and Misti had finished their outlines and drove toward Leland's office. He was filling out paperwork and glancing at his computer screen. Misti knocked on the entrance with her tire.

"You finished?" Leland asked.

"Yep. We're done."

"Let me see it."

Misti and Connor handed their outlines over to Leland. He looked over them very thoroughly for almost ten minutes before handing them back.

"Both of them are fine. Go back to your spot and review them more. The interview will be starting soon."

Misti and Connor began to prepare for their interview. A while later the press members entered the building. Leland called Misti and Connor over to the conference room and the interview went underway.

By 6:30 PM, things had finally settled down. Everyone was tired and exhausted and they would have to get up early the following morning. Leland wanted everything ready for tomorrow since it was the Bathrust 12 Hour.

"Get some rest Cruz. Everyone will have to get up early, especially the three of you. Tomorrow Leland wants us to put on a good show since it's the actual race tomorrow."

"Alright. I know we're suppose to have a briefing, but since everyone is too tired, I'm going to let everyone go back to their hotel rooms and homes to get some early rest. Goodnight and I'll see you in the morning."

**Another chapter started and completed. Hopefully I'm doing a good job of keeping this story organized as much as possible. Sorry if I haven't been updating a lot. School life is controlling me. **


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 16

**Mount Panorama Circuit- Bathurst, Australia, Day 4- The Bathurst 12 Hour **

The day of the Bathurst 12 Hour was finally here. The Larrousse Racing Team were busy like bees all morning long. From training to looking over statistics and times, to reviewing the plan for today, the team was sure they would be able to make a great finish here in Australia. Cruz was finishing up her preparations when Shannon and Kori drive toward her. She was about to approach them, when Leland held his tire up, signaling for them to stop short.

"Interview and questions will have to wait. We're very busy and we need Cruz to remain focused."

"It's just a few questions we have." Shannon insisted.

Leland turned back to Cruz who was looking over some paperwork with Morris, and then glanced back at the two R.S.N reporters. Knowing that they wouldn't leave him alone until they were able to interview Cruz, Leland reluctantly allowed them inside the pit garage.

"Five minutes. I need Cruz to be active as much as possible so make it quick. Cruz!"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Shannon and Kori want to interview you. However, I'm giving you five minutes and then I want you to get back to work. I'll be keeping a timer on me."

Cruz drove over toward the two reporters. They began to interview her as soon as the camera light flicked green.

"Cruz, since this is your first race with the Street Stock Racers, do you think you'll possibly make your first win and be claimed a Bathurst 12 Hour winner?"

"It's still too early to predict that. But I want to have a top ten finish at least. Leland wants all of his racers to be in the top ten."

"Is it possible that you'll get into the Championship next year?"

"It's too early to state wether or not our team will get into the Championship. But we're hoping we can make it. As for Leland, he's hoping the same, and he's putting a lot of work into us to make sure we get there."

"Where will you go after this race? Will you also join the team full time next year?"

Cruz was about to answer the question, when a timer went off. The sound of Leland's horn signaled for her to come back to work and the reporters had to leave.

"Sorry. I have to go."

"That's okay. I'm glad we were able to have a few minutes with you." And with that, Shannon and Kori left the pit garage.

"Alright Cruz, I want you to go out and do another practice run out on the track. The officials are allowing us to use the track as much as we have to today. Seems like everyone wants to do well. I'll keep track of your speed. Now off you go."

Cruz went onto the track. Leland placed his headset on him and connected his radio to Cruz's.

"Alright Cruz. Going green now. Let's go let's go! Push your limits behind you!"

"Yes, sir!" Almost immediately, Cruz sped off along with the other Street Stock Racers. Her engine must've been louder than all the other engines out on the track.

The race was off to a good start and Cruz was able to remain in the top ten. She managed the corners of the track, but still had problems managing the turns. Leland could see this was new to Cruz and so far she was doing fine. He couldn't figure out what was going on with her.

"Cruz, your getting too tight in the corners. Loosen yourself a little." Leland coached through his headset.

Cruz began to realize that she was getting tight in the corners. She wasn't use to them at all and despite being a racer, the corners she was use to on the tracks she raced on, were completely different than the tracks she was beginning to race on.

"Sorry Leland. These corners are still new to me. I'm doing the best I can."

Just then, three racers spun out of control. Two others racers were later involved. The officials pulled out the yellow flag and the safety car went out onto the track.

"Yellow flag Cruz! The safety car just pulled onto the track." Leland called out through his headset.

"Do you want me to stay out or come in for fuel?"

Leland glanced at the computer monitor that displayed Cruz's statistics and fuel levels. He observed the fuel level carefully and then went back on his radio.

"Come in for fresh fuel. Your fuel levels are down a little."

"Alright. I'm coming in." Cruz replied over her radio.

"Get her fuel ready!" Leland barked out his command immediately to the pit crew. They obeyed right away and were ready as soon as Cruz came into the pits.

"Go Cruz! Go go!" Leland ordered. Cruz immediately sped away and went back onto the racetrack. She was now in sixth place and Giulia was in fifth place.

"Back to green." Leland reported on his headset. Almost right away, the racers thundered across the racetrack, wanting to win the first race of the season. All of these races were important because, the more playoff points you received from them, the chance of getting into the Championship Series would be bigger and higher. Leland was determined to make sure his racers could get as many playoff points as possible. This included barking out orders and giving out commands almost immediately. Some didn't even want to obey his commands and when that happened, Leland wouldn't be happy at all. Everyone on the team was determined to make him happy. Even if it meant doing something they didn't want to do.

On lap 84, light showers began to develop. Cruz wasn't so sure she would be okay. She had no experience and became afraid if she crashed. Nervously, she turned on her radio.

"Leland?"

"Cruz, what's going- oh goodness! Come into the pits now!"

Immediately, Cruz pulled into the pits while the yellow flag came out, and the safety car went in front of the pack of racers. Leland had just remembered that she didn't have any experience racing on the track during showers. Even though they were light, he made the call for Cruz's safety and everyone else's.

"Jamie, finish up! Go go!" Leland barked out his order as soon as the pit crew had finished getting him ready. Jamie sped onto the track and went behind Matthew Hollister. Since he was in seventh place, Jamie would be in eighth.

Leland frowned with concern when he saw Jamie's position on the computer screen. "Jamie, get consistent as soon as they restart. Your in eighth place and I want everyone to remain in the top ten as much as possible in these races. I know you can do it so don't disappoint me."

Jamie gulped nervously to himself before responding to Leland's command. "Yes, sir. I won't disappoint you. I promise."

"Good."

The green flag came back out again and all of the racers peeled across the track. Jamie managed to take sixith place away and hoped that he could hold it. Several laps continued and Jamie was already in fourth place.

"Keep it up Jamie. If you finish this well, it'll make Leland happy." Morris called over on his radio.

"I'm determined to make Leland happy."

"I know. But what's most important is that all four of you are still in one piece."

Before the entire team knew it, the white flag waved in the air, officially meaning that there was only one lap left in the race. Pushing his engine as fast as he could, Jamie managed to take over third place. In fact he was going two thirds of a second more than the racer who had third place before him. The checkered flag waved, ending the race. Unfortunately, Jamie didn't win the race. But at least he had finished in the top ten.

"Well done everyone." Leland complimented as soon as Jamie returned to the pit garage. "Once we get back to France, I'll hold a briefing on the races and progress we made. For now let's head back to the hotel and get some rest. I made a reservation for us to have dinner in the dining hall later tonight."

* * *

The team made it back to their transporter within minutes. However, the press members wanted to ask questions to all of the racers, but Morris interfered and refuse to let them by.

"They can answer questions later if they want. For now, back up!"

The press reversed back in Morris's command and made room for the transporter to leave the raceway. The four racers were tired and exhausted. Leland was tired himself and began to fall asleep. The racers began to fall asleep not long after Leland. Lightning and Morris were the only ones awake. Along with Ramone, Sheriff, Luigi, and Guido. However, the four of them were going to the hotel by plane. A while later, Cruz woke up to find the other three racers still sleeping. However, she didn't see Leland and went through the transporter. She found Leland filling out papers and glancing at his computer screen in the very back of the transporter.

"Cruz, is something wrong?" Leland asked, glancing up at her.

"No. I just wanted to know what we're going to do when we settle in the hotel."

"I'll be holding a briefing later on. I just want everyone to settle in once we get to the hotel and then we'll discuss it. So far on your part, your doing really well for a first timer in this type of racing. Most newcomers that change racing codes find it hard to grasp their knowledge and get use to it. But I think your doing well and I hope you decide to race for us next year in full time work. I really mean that."

Cruz couldn't help but smile at the compliment. However, Leland was right about her progress. She wasn't sure how she would do in the first place, but all she knew was that she was doing good work. Tex had always said the same thing to her ever since she started racing for him and she had impressed Leland as well.

"Thank you Leland. I appreciate that very much." Cruz said, as she went back to her own area of the transporter.

* * *

**Brisbane Hotel- Brisbane, Australia**

The team had finally arrived back at the hotel. After checking in, Leland had everyone go to their hotel rooms to get some rest since everyone was tired and exhausted. Later on, he would get everyone and then they would go have dinner in the dining hall. Cruz went to her hotel room and began to rest. She began to have thoughts in her mind.

_I think I'm going to race with the Street Stock Racers next year and do it full time. I really like this type of racing and it's really cool. I know Tex will understand and I'm still going to race in the Piston Cup and remain on the Dinoco team. I know Tex will feel like I want to go, but I really don't want to leave. I just want a challenge. I'll make sure I let Leland know when he's ready for my answer._

A short while later, Cruz heard a knock on her door.

"Cruz, it's time for dinner. Everyone else is at the dining hall." Leland called out.

"Coming." Cruz called back and a little bit later, she came out of her hotel room, and followed Leland to the dining hall.

"Cruz, over here!" Misti called out as soon as Cruz approached their table. Leland drove to another table where the other half of the team were. After everyone had finished placing their orders, including the four racers, Jamie pulled out a sketch of the next racetrack they would be racing on after they left France.

"What's that?" Cruz asked, while taking a bite out of her salad.

"It's the Bahrain International Circuit, one of the most difficult tracks in the sport. Leland wanted me to draw out a sketch of it so this way I can analyze where I need to make improvements. He wasn't happy with my results last year and I almost went airborne into a barrier so this year, I'm making sure I do what I can to improve, but hopefully I'll get better this time."

"What's so hard about it?"

"The corners are really tight. You have to be very careful not to go too fast in them or else, you'll end up in a serious accident. I almost had that accident and Im glad I pulled on my brakes when my crew chief told me to."

"You'll have to do a sketch as well since it's your first time. Leland will help you though. He's going to talk to us about that as well after dinner I assume." Connor replied.

After dinner, Leland had everyone gather inside his hotel room for a brief meeting about what they were going to do once they arrived in France.

"Alright! Everyone listen up! When we get back to France, we will prepare for the next playoff races and then, we will make our next destination which will be Bahrain and we will prepare for the 6 Hours of Bahrain. Leland glanced his attention to all four of the racers. "As for the four of you, I want you to do a drawing or a sketch of the Bahrain International Circuit. It's a very difficult course and I don't want anyone hurt or get possibly killed. I want them done no later by next week and then I'll meet with each of you individually and then we'll meet together to give each other ideas, tips, advice, or help if we need it." Turning his attention back to everyone else, Leland ended the meeting. "Goodnight everyone. I'll see you up bright and early in the morning." And with that, everyone went back to their hotel rooms. Tomorrow would be another busy day.

**Wow, this chapter is a little longer, lol. I'm updating this quickly and I'm surprised since I am focusing on my studies and homework. But it's all in the time management skills I guess. Although, if you ask me, I'm horrible with it. But I'm trying so no shame in that. Anyway, don't forget to leave a review or comment. I love receiving them since it gives me your feelings and thoughts on this story. I'm also close to finishing this up and soon I'll let you submit your guesses as to how the story will end. Anyway, I hope your enjoying the story. **


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs are my characters and property. No copyright infringement intended. This is for entertainment purposes only. **

Chapter 17

**Larrousse Racing Team Headquarters, Nice, France 10:00 AM France time**

The team had arrived in France the following day and arrived at their headquarters in no time. Leland closed the door with his tire once everyone was inside the conference room. Morris was carrying a folder and a cup of coffee. Leland took his place in front of the room and placed the results from Bathurst on the display board.

"Alright. Here's the results we got from Bathurst. Overall, everyone did great work. However, I'm expecting all of us to work twice as hard as we did so this way, we have a shot of winning the next race. Cruz, you and Connor will be set to start qualifying tomorrow. Also another note. As I keep reminding all of you, these races are part of the playoffs so we need to be at our very best. When we arrive at the Bahrain International Circuit, we'll talk about the plans we have. Cruz, Misti, Connor, and Jamie please stay with me. I need to explain what I want in your sketches of the track. Everyone else, get back to work."

Leland escorted the four racers into his office. Jamie already had his sketch of the Bahrain International Circuit out in front of him. Leland glanced at it briefly, as he parked behind his desk.

"Alright, Jamie, Connor, and Misti you three know the Sketching already. But the reason I had all of you come with me is because, we need Cruz to do the same as well. I'm sure she's had to do sketches in the past, but this is a little different." Leland turned his attention back to Jamie's sketch, and held it up with his tire.

"For all of you, I want you to put as much detail as you can in your sketches. The reason we do this is because, it'll help us see where you need to make improvement. Jamie is definitely required to do this, since this is the track he struggles the most with."

"By all means Leland, you know I'm not good at this course. Which is why I started sketching."

Leland handed out pieces of paper to the three other racers. "As for the three of you, I want you to start working on the sketches now. Jamie, you can stay here so this way, I can talk to you about what you have done so far with your sketch."

"Yes, sir." Replied Jamie, as he watched his three teammates leave Leland's office.

Cruz, Connor, and Misti went to a quiet place where they could work on their sketches. Misti agreed to help Cruz get a head start on her drawing, since she didn't know what to expect for her first race.

"Have you ever done a sketch of a race course before?" Misti asked.

"No, not really. Unless it was one of the major races in the Piston Cup Circuit, then I didn't have to do a sketch. Sometimes in strategy plans it was necessary, but other than that, I didn't do any sketches."

"Well, I'm afraid you'll have to get use to it. Leland always makes us do sketches of each race track. He says it helps visualize where we need to make any necessary improvements and adjustments. It's actually better to be honest. He's also able to help us and if we're struggling after the race, he'll come over to us with the sketch and explain to us what we need to do to improve the following year. Before a race, he also goes over the sketch we did, but he meets one on one with us so this way, we don't mess up if we hear someone else's plans. It helps us to concentrate better."

"I see. Well, I guess it can't be that hard. Can it?"

"Well, you have to add in a lot of detail. But that depends on how much your struggling and it also depends on the race track. Jamie's been working on his since the break and he's got a lot of notes on it. Leland is determined to make sure he gets this track this year so he's been making Jamie work a lot harder than the rest of us."

Cruz began starting out with the race track and then got into a little more detail as she went on. Misti would lend a helping tire here and there with her, since it was her first time. A few minutes later, Morris appeared. He was carrying a manila folder and the training schedule for today.

"Alright, it's time for training. You can finish up the sketches later. Leland won't need to see them until next week. Let's head up to the training room."

Finishing up their last detail on their sketches, the three racers followed Morris up to the training room after placing them in a folder which would be stored for safekeeping.

* * *

**Dinoco Racing Headquarters, Dallas, Texas **

For several weeks, Tex had been crazy busy than normal. He was getting so many questions that he wasn't sure which questions to answer, while other questions he couldn't answer at all because, he wasn't sure what Cruz was going to do about her contract with Leland and if she was staying with the team or not.

"Mr Dinoco, will Cruz remain in the Production Car Series or will she come back to the Piston Cup and keep racing for Dinoco?"

"At this point, I don't know any details. I'm sorry. So far what I've heard, Cruz is having a fun time in the series. Leland will be contacting me from time to time. For now, that's all I have. Please, move aside." And with his statement being said, Tex headed back to his office. He didn't know what Cruz was going to do once her contract would be over. But, Leland had promised that he would let him know as soon as Cruz made up her mind.

* * *

**Larrousse Racing Team Headquarters, Nice, France**

Cruz was training hard on her simulator. She had experience with one before, so Leland and Morris weren't concerned at all about that. Cruz had convinced them that she could handle anything. Although Leland had said that this sport wasn't easy like the Piston Cup, he couldn't lose confidence in her. She knew she could do it, but Leland made it clear that if she wasn't sure about something, she was to ask him, Morris, or any of her teammates for help. That was one thing Leland wanted to make sure he was clear on. And since he was determined to get his team into the Championship Series next year, Cruz was determined to not let him down.

"Alright Cruz, that's all for the simulator work. I have all the data I need. Now, let's move over to your next training course. Jamie, Misti, and Connor, you are to keep going until I have more data from the simulators.

"Yes, Morris," the three racers replied in unison. Morris nodded and then escorted Cruz to her rolling road. She was to do at least an hour and a half on the rolling road and then Leland wanted to go over her sketch so far, once he was done going over Jamie's sketch with him.

Cruz began her second training course of the day. She was determined to make sure the team won the Championship and get into the series next year. If they did, then they would be in for several big surprises. Cruz wasn't sure what the surprises were, but she hoped they were good ones.

After Cruz had finished her training session for the day, she was allowed to finish her sketch of the racetrack. She examined a photo Leland had printed out for her and came up with the most logical plan she could come up with for each turn. Of course these sketches weren't new for her, but the track was completely different than what she was use to racing on. Applying as much detail as she could, Cruz had managed to finish up her sketch. By that moment, lunch was ready in the cafeteria kitchen.

"Did you finish your sketch?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah. I did. Leland wants me to show it to him after I'm done eating."

"I'm halfway done." Misti stated. "Leland wants mine in as soon as possible."

"I think Leland's mainly going to focus on Cruz and Jamie. Since Cruz is new here, she doesn't know any of these courses, and Jamie's struggling a lot. Both of us are experienced with it so luckily, Leland doesn't have to stress out too much about our experience with the course." Connor replied, sipping his cup of coffee.

"Cruz, Leland wants to see you now. Turns out he wants to see what you have so far. Same goes for Misti and Connor."

"Alright. I'm on my way." Cruz dumped the remnants of her lunch into the garbage, then made her way to Leland's office. When Cruz arrived at Leland's office, Jamie was still there. Cruz was shocked that he had been forced to stay with Leland for almost the entire day. But since Jamie's struggles were only getting worse, Leland had to make sure he could do better at Bahrain this year, than other years prior. She had just knocked on the glass gently with her tire, causing Leland to look up from Jamie's sketch.

"Ah, Cruz there you are. Do you have your sketch with you?"

Cruz held up her sketch with her tire. "I got it right here."

Leland nodded in approval and then ended the conversation with Jamie. He was instructed to do an hour on the simulator and then do an hour and a half on his rolling road. After he left Leland's office, Leland motioned for Cruz to come in. She placed the sketch on his desk as he began analyzing the notes, details, and plans she had sketched out. He was very impressed that someone who had no knowledge or experience with this type of racing would be able to do a sketch that was so detailed and elaborate. He turned his attention back to Cruz and began to speak.

"Miss Ramirez, I must say this is really impressive. I have to be honest, you'd make a great racer on my team. That is, if you decide to race for us full time next year. Anyway, from what I've seen, it looks like you've got the movements. However, I want to make sure you know what to do and understand how you handle the turns. We will go for a track drive as well once we get there."

Over the next few minutes, Leland and Cruz went over the sketch Cruz had drawn. Leland had explained to her the tunes she would have to be careful with. Cruz tried to understand as much as she could, but Leland assured her that she would understand it better once they did the track drive.

"Alright, you may continue your training." Leland said, glancing at the time on his phone. "We will have our briefing later in the evening."

**6:30 PM**

Leland had gathered the team a while later. They were going to have a quick meeting and then take the rest of the night off to get some rest. Tomorrow would start off another busy day.

"Settle down please." Leland called out as everyone was still getting ready. Once everyone was silent and settled down, Leland began to speak.

"Today, we did good work on our training. Tomorrow we will leave for the track for the first race and then we will stay here for a while to do the other races and then, we will leave for Bahrain International Circuit. Any questions, comments, or concerns?"

The room remained silent for a while. Once it had been for a while, Leland allowed everyone to leave.

"Make sure you get a well night's sleep. We have to be at the track early in the morning if we want to avoid all the traffic."

"Yes, Leland." And with that, everyone turned in for the night.

**Been a while since I updated and I apologize for that. Unfortunately all this week I had a lot of homework to do and I got sick as well, which is why it took me a while to update. Hopefully though that gave you enough time to catchup to where I left off. Anyway here's the next chapter. Also I know this isn't interesting, but I felt it was important to highlight the team refreshing their training tasks. **


	19. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Disney and Pixar. All OCs are my characters and property. **

**Circuit de Charade Racetrack, Clermont-Ferrand, France**

Chapter 18

Cruz and the rest of the team woke up early the following morning. Leland had been rushing them in order to beat the morning traffic. He wanted his racers to make the most of what they could do, since he wanted them to get into the Championship Series next year. Cruz still had to make her mind if she was going to race for him full-time next year.

"Wow. This track is complex." Cruz gasped in shock.

Jamie chuckled. "Your not the only one who's had that first impression."

"How complex is this track?" Cruz asked nervously.

"It was built around the base of an extinct volcano." Leland explained. "It's a really challenging layout, which is why I've completed several sketches of it myself." He passed out several completed sketches of the track to all of the racers. Morris and Jamie's crew chief received one as well.

"Alright. Does everyone have a copy of the sketch of the track?" Leland called out after he centered himself in the front of the team's pit garage.

"Yes, sir," everyone replied in unison. Leland nodded in approval. "So today, Jamie and Connor will have their first round of qualifying, then we will have a debrief. After that, we can grab some lunch and then Jamie and Cruz, you will have to prepare for your next round of qualifying which will be later today and then tonight, we will discuss what we've done to help get ready for our second round of qualifying tomorrow. Now, with that covered, let's head out onto the track. We will be doing our first track drive. We will be having them from now on, so if anyone is struggling, I highly suggest that you write everything down. Right, let's go!"

Together, the entire team went onto the track with Leland leading. They stopped at the first turn and Morris began to explain what the turn was. He also offered some tips and where to be careful and where it was safe for them to turn. Cruz wrote down everything she heard and would look over them before qualifying began. Leland led them to the second corner of the track.

"Come over here you four!" Leland called out. The four racers came up in the front of the group as they had been instructed. Connor and Jamie began to study the turn carefully, while Misti and Cruz hung back. Leland raised his right eyelid at Cruz.

"Would you like to try and find this turn, Cruz?"

"I haven't raced on a track like this, especially one where it was built on the base of an extinct volcano." Cruz replied, carrying nervousness in her voice.

"I still want you to try and do the best you can do."

Cruz began studying the turn carefully to where she could find the corner where she had to turn. It wasn't that hard, but at the same time, it wasn't easy. She was use to being able to see the corner when she was far enough from it. But she could never find it if she was up close in front of a track. Just then, Cruz's eyes went straight to an area in the corner. The asphalt had been run over with from several tires from the Production Series racers. Realizing that she had found the corner, Cruz pointed to it.

"Right here." She replied.

"Yes, exactly. Great job." Leland praised. "You'll have to be careful to not turn sharply in this corner. It's really tight as you saw from the other turn. Many racers can go airborne if they're not careful. It happened to Connor last year."

"Luckily I didn't go airborne." Connor called out.

"Yes, and we're very fortunate that it didn't happen." Leland replied. "Now let's get ready for qualifying. It'll start in 15 minutes. Morris and Roger, get Connor and Jamie ready. I'll take care of Misti and Cruz."

A while later, a siren wailed, indicating that qualifying was underway. Misti and Connor were taken care of and ready to go. They went drove onto the track, where all the other Production racers were. The safety car was right behind them. A yellow flag waved, signaling for the car to lead the racers through the course. In the garage area of the team, Cruz was granted permission to listen in. This would help her to see where she should avoid turning and where it was safe for her to turn.

A few more laps went by and finally, the safety car drove off the track and went into the pits. The qualifying began to go underway.

"Green flag Connor. Green flag!" Morris called out from his headset. "Go go go!"

"Alright Jamie, stay behind your teammate and make sure you keep your racing line straight. I'll let you know if Leland makes adjustments. Green flag! Go go!"

Jamie and Connor immediately floored it. They set off like rockets, wanting to get a top ten range start. Everyone was dying for those playoff points. Jamie and Connor knew this, so they were trying their hardest. Although, Jamie wasn't doing well as much as Leland was hoping for. But, he was determined to try his hardest and get inside the top ten.

Into the tenth of qualifying, Connor had been the leader, until Spencer Laine, a rookie, had taken the position from him. He was now in second place. Morris was keeping an eye out to make sure he was doing well. Until the unthinkable happened. Connor had slammed into the wall after he turned sharply into the corner in turn 4. He had suffered minor damage. But the pain was unbearable

"Morris, I need to come into the pits. I did some damage to my left side. It hurts a lot."

"Okay. Come in."

Connor immediately came into the pits. The pit crew immediately assessed to the damage he had while out on the track. Leland frowned with concern.

"Can he keep racing?" Leland asked.

"Leland! I can't. My side hurts really bad." Connor exploded almost immediately in rage. He scowled at the pit crew and his crew chief. "Don't you dare let me go back out on the track in this condition! I'm serious. My side hurts too much."

Leland scowled at Connor, causing him to hunker lower on his tires. "Connor! Don't back talk me! I get it. Go and park yourself at the fridge and relax yourself."

Connor immediately obeyed Leland's command and went to relax himself on a cushion. Leland was a nice chief, but sometimes he could be a hard taskmaster. In most cases, someone else on the team would have to persuade him to give into the racer's wish to stay out of the race if they felt they couldn't keep going. But then again, he wanted his team to be successful in the Production Car Series, especially if they were trying to get into the Production Car Championship Series next year. That was their goal, and Leland was determined to make sure they achieved that goal by working hard and winning the end of the year championship.

Out on the track, it was all up to Jamie. Despite his struggling progress, he had managed to get into sixth place. Leland was hoping he would be able to finish in the top ten range. Then again, Misti and Cruz would be qualifying later on in the afternoon, so Leland wasn't too concerned. Unfortunately, it wasn't long until Jamie had fallen behind. Within ten laps to go, Jamie hadn't been able to make any progress and ended up in eleventh place. Leland wasn't happy with the result and would be discussing it with him later on during the team's lunch break.

The qualifying had ended by 11:45. Leland allowed everyone to grab some lunch, that is except for Jamie. He was told to stay behind while Leland had a discussion with him, reguarding his qualifying. Jamie gulped nervously when Leland approached him, carrying a file.

"Jamie, I don't even know where to begin." Leland said, exhaustingly. "Your only getting worse."

"I don't know what's going on with me." Jamie replied. He was starting to get more stressed out than before. Leland was now on his tail and pushing him harder than before, and nothing was working. Jamie sighed tiredly.

"Look, I promise, I'll get better as we move on." Leland didn't look convinced at all.

"You'd better. Or I'll have to take drastic action." Leland frowned sternly. "I'm going to have to place you on extra practice hours when we get to Bahrain."

Jamie sighed. "Yes. I understand." He didn't bother arguing with Leland. It wouldn't get him anywhere.

"Good. Go ahead and grab some lunch."

Later that day, Misti and Cruz were preparing for the second qualifying round they were going to do. Leland had been pressuring them since the first round didn't go so well.

"Do your best. Leland isn't happy with the results we got this morning. Hopefully, you'll make his day better." Morris said to Cruz and Misti. "He's not happy with the results and if these results end up the same, he might have a strong wrath later on."

"We'll make sure we do our best." Cruz said, giving the manager a wink. Morris nodded.

"Very well then. The siren will come on soon. I suggest you get ready and then go out on the track."

Shortly a while later, the siren blared and all of the racers went onto the track to get into their starting position. Leland had managed to calm himself and placed a headset on his roof. He guided Cruz to her starting point, while Morris guided Misti.

"And three...two...one..Stop!" Leland barked out his command immediately over the radio.

Soon, all the racers began their qualifying session. Cruz and Misti were doing their hardest to avoid contact with all the other racers. They feared that if something happened, Leland would blow a fuse at the end, and that was not what anyone would want.

On the tenth lap, Misti began hearing strange noises from her brakes. She turned on her radio and spoke to Leland.

"I need to come into the pits. I think there's something wrong with my brakes."

Leland's voice carried concern as he began to speak through his radio to Misti. "What do you mean there's something wrong with your brak-?"

A loud clang of metal interrupted Leland's conversation. He froze with concern as Misti began freaking out.

"Oh no! I've broken my brakes!" Misti exclaimed. She was now going at full speed, unable to stop. Her wheels began spinning out of control.

"Help! I can't stop!" Misti hollered over her radio.

Inside the Larrousse Racing Team's pit garage, Leland bit his lower lip nervously. This wasn't a good sign at all and he feared that Misti could hurt herself or worse case senario, hurt someone else. Several track officials immediately took action. One of them went out onto the track to slow down Misti, while another one began to set up a barrier for her to stop. All the other racers were nervous, trying to avoid any contact with her.

Within minutes, Misti had managed to drive into the grass where a sand pit was prepared for her. She slid into the pit and stopped right away. Leland breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that no one had been hurt during the incident.

"Thank goodness your okay." Leland said, as Misti arrived back at the garage safely. Even though he wasn't happy with Misti's position, Cruz had managed to get fifth position, which made Leland feel a little better.

"Alright, that's our work for today. Let's get back to headquarters, we've got a race to win tomorrow."

**I'm so sorry it's taking me a while to update. Been busy lately and I had to focus on studying for a geometry test this past weekend. Also it's my birthday today so I wasn't sure if I would be able to post, but I did. Anyway here's the next chapter. Also I'll have to cut it short, since there's still other races I have to write on, including the championship to end the season. I've already had some names for my upcoming sequel and decided it'll be called "Cruz The Production Racer." Anyway I hope you like this chapter and I'll be posting the next chapter ASAP. Thank you for understanding. **


	20. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me.**

**Circuit de Charade Racetrack, Clermont-Ferrand, France **

Chapter 19

Before the team knew it, it was race day. Cruz, Misti, Connor, and Jamie were preparing for the long day. Leland wanted everyone to be their very best and everyone was determined to do their part. Jamie was concerned. Since this track had complex turns, he was sure he would spin out of control and possibly, cause a wreck. Leland turned his attention to the group.

"Alright, everyone please give me your attention!" Leland called out. Everyone faced Leland's direction. After they had, Leland began speaking.

"So, here's the plan for today. Although it's not set in stone yet. For the first several laps, we've decided to let Connor and Cruz go first. This race isn't the same like Bathurst was, so we need to do things differently. If a safety car is deployed, I'll make a final call about what we'll do. Since Jamie is struggling a little, he will take over Connor's position. Also one more note. The officials will be coming in the garage to check and make sure we're abiding by the rules. I know we follow them, but it's a requirement for them to do this task. And before anyone is thinking about making this move, I'm going to say it. Don't even think about pulling an argument with the officials! Is everyone clear on that?"

"Yes, Leland." Everyone replied in unison. Jamie hunkered down lower on his tires, causing him to receive a sharp, cold glare from Leland.

"Specifically, I'm talking to you Jamie. I'm very disappointed with the behavior you displayed last year. And if it happens again, I will release you from the team. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir." Jamie replied reluctantly. Clearly, Leland wasn't tolerating any nonsense that Jamie could pull. Sure he was one of Leland's gold ribbon racers, but business was business and Leland was determined to put Jamie in his place. Especially when the team was trying to win the championship and get into the Championship Series next year.

"Good. Alright, I think that's all for now. Take care of yourselves, and let's have a great race day!"

Everyone spreaded throughout the garage to complete their tasks and assignments. The team's engineers checked on all of the engines on the racers. The officials would be checking and do a thorough search. In the Production Car Series, it was a requirement for officials to check the car and engine to make sure none of the teams were violating any rules. They would be coming in a few minutes before the race to check all the racers.

"Are you ready to take on this track Cruz?" Leland asked.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, this track looks like someone could get hurt really bad."

"I know it looks like that. But trust me, once you get use to the turns and corners, you'll get the hang of it."

Cruz sighed. She knew she had to trust Leland since he was familiar with this track since this was the country where he lived.

* * *

A while later, several officials came into the garage. They were going to do a thorough exam on all of the racers engines to make sure the team wasn't violating any of the guidelines. FIA rules after all.

"No one is to leave this garage until I give you the all clear!" One of the officials ordered. "Leland Scott?"

"Right here." Leland called as he drove toward the officials.

"We're going to check all of your racers to make sure their engines are not modified. I know you race by the rules, but it's a requirement as you know."

Leland nodded in approval and the officials made their way toward the four race cars. Morris was there with them.

"Cruz, this is just a precaution their doing so don't get scared. I know the officials in the Piston Cup do come in the pits, but that is for other things. So just listen to what they want you to do and obey their commands."

"Alright. I will."

"Good."

"Alright, who's first?" One of the officials asked.

"I'll go." Misti replied.

"Very well then. Open your hood for me." The official instructed. Misti obeyed the official and opened her hood. After checking her engine and making sure no adjustments were made, another official who was a forklift, closed her hood, and signaled to his colleague that Misti was all clear. Nodding in approval and writing down the notes on his clipboard, the official glanced back up.

"Alright. Next!"

* * *

After the officials had finished their exam on the racers, headed toward Leland.

"You'll have the results by the end of the day. Good luck."

"Thanks." Leland said, as he watched the officials leave the garage. He turned around and headed back to the rest of the team.

A siren blared, signaling the racers to get onto the track to start the race. Cruz was ready to go and joined her fellow competitors and teammates on the track. Leland placed a headset so he could coach Cruz through the race.

"Green flag Cruz! Go go!" Leland shouted over the radio.

Cruz immediately began to floor it. As soon as the green flag waved in the air, every racer began to take off immediately. Connor was back in seventh place, while poor Misti was all the way in the back of the pack. Leland wasn't happy about this, so he had been strict on the rest of his racers and demanded more of them, but since this was Cruz's first time racing in the Production Cars, he had to go easy on her, which he did. He just wanted his team to get into the Championship Series next year. That was all he cared about, and he knew everyone else was trying to achieve that goal as well.

Throughout the first few laps, Cruz remained in the top ten. Misti had managed to make up some ground and now, she was in seventeenth place.

"Your doing great Cruz." Leland praised over his headset. "Just stay clean on the corners and you'll be fine."

"I will." Cruz replied.

"Yellow flag!" One of the officials hollered over the radio. "Safety car is being deployed. I repeat, safety car is being deployed."

Out in the third corner, one of the rookies had been struggling and eventually, it had caused an accident. The rookie had spun around and took two other racers with him. All three of them had crashed into the wall and spun into the infield. Luckily, they weren't hurt.

"What happened?" Cruz asked over her radio.

"Three racers collided and went into the wall. They're okay, but there's a lot of debris out on the track. Which is why they pulled out the yellow flag." Leland said. "I'll let you know if I want you to come in and pit."

"Alright. I'll be on standby."

A while later, Leland came back onto the radio. He had instructed Cruz to come into the pits for fresh tires and fuel. Cruz obeyed her command and went into the pits. The pit crew began doing their work and a few seconds later, she was back out on the track. Misti and Connor had taken pit stops as well, much to Leland's displeasure.

"I have a feeling Leland won't like the fact that we took pit stops." Misti said to Connor over her radio.

"Yeah, but I felt my tires going down so better to be safe and sorry. You know?"

"True."

After the safety car peeled off the track and into the pits, the race restarted. Everyone fought for points and positions. Cruz had remained in fifth when she first started the race. However, she had fallen into tenth place a while later. Leland frowned with concerned, and turned on his radio.

"You need to pick up the consistency a little, Cruz."

"I'm trying, Leland. I really am."

Sighing with frustration, Leland turned off his radio. He didn't know what was going on. As for his other racers, he didn't even want to look at the positions. For all he knew, everyone else was in the twenty range. He had hoped that Cruz would be able to remain in the top ten.

During the final laps, Cruz had managed to remain in the top ten and had finished in fifth place. Leland was relieved that someone had at least finished in the top ten range.

"Well done, Cruz." Leland praised as soon as Cruz returned to the team's pit garage. "Right, we'd better get packing up. We're due at the airport at 7:00 PM for our flight to Bahrain."

Everyone began to pack up. Leland would be discussing the plans with everyone once they arrived at the Bahrain International Circuit. A while later, the team headed to the airport and boarded their flight to Bahrain. Cruz settled down and began to fall asleep. At least she had done something that had made Leland happy.

**At last. A new chapter. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. As I also said earlier, these are the only chapters I'll be able to write since there's still more I have to do. Anyway I hope you like the story so far. There's probably going to be only one other sequel for this story because I can only think of how I want the remaining parts to go. I'm also thinking about posting a story that I've typed out several chapters for (which has been in my document management since the summer) anyway let me know if you want me to post it. (Just a little giveaway, it has to do with my OC, Sophia Dinoco) anyway let me know if you want me to publish it. Just comment on my wall. **


	21. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 20

**Bahrain International Circuit, Gate 255, Gulf of Bahrain Avenue, Umm Jidar 1062 Sakir, Bahrain, Day 1 **

Cruz and the Larrousse Racing Team arrived at the Bahrain Imternational Circuit. They were going to take it easy and do some practice sessions, along with an autograph session and a TV interview in the afternoon and then tomorrow, they were going to start working and focusing on the qualifying and then the race. Leland had managed to find a hotel that wasn't too far from the track and would give the team plenty of time to get there for the practice sessions and the race.

"Okay, I need everyone's attention. Please." Leland called out. "There's a specific schedule we're required to follow, and I don't want our team to be fined for not following along." Everyone began to settle down and Leland began to speak.

"What's the schedule?" Cruz asked.

"Today we have to do two practice sessions. That'll be followed by our lunch break. Then, Jamie and Misti, your scheduled for a TV interview, while Connor and Cruz prepare for their autograph session. Right, I think that's all we have to do today. Let's do our best and remember to shine! Good luck everyone!"

The four racers began to prepare for their practice sessions. Morris and Leland were making sure everything was clear on the schedule. The pit crew had finished adjusting all of the racer's tires when Leland returned to the garage.

"Are they ready to go?" Leland asked.

"Yes, sir." One of the crew members replied.

"Very well."

Cruz and Misti were having a protein drink before the race. Leland was very serious about the amount of protein his racers had, especially before a major race or practice session. However, since he was busy taking care of other business responsibilities, he had asked Morris to take over for him. Morris agreed and even asked Leland if he could take over for the racers. Of course, it was up to Leland, but he also knew Morris wanted to help out. Leland would let him know by the end of the season if he wanted his help.

The loudspeaker went on as the siren went off. "All racers, please make your way on the track."

"Come on. Let's go." Jamie replied. Cruz, Misti and Connor followed their teammate onto the track. Leland and Morris parked in front of the screen monitors while they placed headsets on themselves. They were going to watch every move to make sure nothing bad would happen while they were out on the track.

"Green flag Cruz. Go go!" Leland commanded through his headset.

Cruz immediately floored it. As soon as the checkered flag waved, every racer took off and thundered across the track. Cruz's bright yellow paint glistened in the sun along with the Larrousse Racing Team's designs and logo. She looked like a professional out on the track. At least that was Leland's opinion. She was determined to race in the Production Car Series and prove to everyone that she belonged in the series.

On lap 15, Cruz came into the pits to take on fuel. Her fuel levels were on low a little. However when Cruz arrived in the pits, the pit crew members were struggling to move around. The track had very small garage areas and it was very hard to move without knocking anything over.

"Excuse me, coming through." One pit crew member said as he carried a set of metal pipes to the other side of the garage. Another pit crew member went into him by accident and dropped a file full of papers.

"Sorry. Coming through."

Leland was trying to get back to the screen monitors after he had purchased a cup of coffee at one of the vender trucks.

"Guys, please. We need to get Cruz fueled up and ready to go." Leland was trying his best to remain calm. But it wasn't easy when you were working in a small area.

"I think we're going to need to talk to the officials about this. We can never work properly in this area." Morris told himself quietly.

As soon as everything had been taken care of, the pit crew began to fill up Cruz's fuel tank and she took off immediately. But, she had lost a lot of positions while in the pits. Leland wasn't happy about this at all and would talk to the officials about it as soon as possible.

On the final lap of the practice session, Cruz had been trying to make up for all the lost ground she had. However she ended up finishing in 31st place. She was hoping she would do better in the second practice session. Unfortunately, Leland wasn't happy at all and had rage on his front.

"Are you kidding me! This is the first time we didn't do well!" Leland's wrath was very clear to everyone. Morris was trying his best to calm him down.

"Leland, it's alright. I'm sure we'll do better in the second practice session."

Leland drew in a deep breath. "I know it's hard to work in a small area and I apologize for my sudden outburst. But, I want our team to make it to the Championship Series next year and we need to work hard if we want to reach that goal."

"We need to talk to the officials about this issue. It's the only way we'll be able to have a bigger work area. Other teams are complaining as well."

"I know. It's not our fault. I think I should go talk to the officials now." Leland said as he left the garage area.

"I'll take care of you guys while he's dealing with the officials."

"Why is Leland doing this now? It's been happening too long." Jamie complained.

"I know. It's been a while." Misti replied. "He should've done it earlier. All the teams are complaining nonstop."

"Well, at least he's doing it now." Morris replied. "Hopefully when we come back next year the garage area will be bigger. Anyway, let's get ready for the second practice session."

Soon, Cruz found herself back out on the track. She was determined to make this session better than the previous one and hoped Leland would be calm. Morris assured her that everything would be alright and all that mattered was that everyone would do their best.

"Alright Cruz. Green flag. Go go!" Morris called out over his headset.

Cruz's engine roared across the track. It was louder than all the other racers. There were some fans that were in the grandstands and cheered for Cruz. Soon, she would be an all time favorite. And lucky for her, she had managed to keep the lead. That was at least one thing Leland would be happy about.

Towards the end of the practice session, Cruz had won the pole and would now start off at the pole position on the day of the race.

"Well done Cruz." Leland praised as soon as she had returned to the pits. "So far everything is being adjusted. I'm very proud of all of you. Let's get some lunch and relax for a while. Then we have a TV interview and an autograph session to do."

Everyone began to depart from the garage and went to the vending food trucks to get something to eat. Since all the racers were placed on special diets, they were told to go to the salad and fruit area. They didn't like it at all, but it was very important that they ate healthy meals. Leland and Morris were to make sure they weren't sneaking any snacks or sugar in them or else they would receive severe consequences.

A while later, everyone returned to the team's pit garage to discuss what they were going to do. Leland drove toward the center of the garage and everyone gathered around him.

"Alright, Misti and Jamie, you won't need to write an outline for your interview. It's just progress about your racing. Cruz and Connor, you have an autograph session by gate 4. There's dozens of fans there already so you might as well go. That's all we have today. After this, we'll go back to the hotel and relax."

Everyone left to go to their assigned area. Cruz couldn't believe she was going to have her first autograph session. Even though she had some in the Piston Cup, she wasn't sure what reactions she would get when everyone would find out that she was racing in the Production Car Series. When Cruz and Connor arrived at their designated spot for their autograph session, dozens of fans cheered. They had hats, mugs, little figures, and flags each displaying Connor and surprisingly, Cruz was on some of them.

"Hello everyone! How are we today?" Connor called out excitedly. As you know, I'm Connor and today, we are going to have a special guest. Her name is Cruz Ramirez. I ask that you will treat her nice and just because she's from the United States, it doesn't mean that she doesn't deserve to be here."

Everyone cheered. Cruz was surprised. She expected so much judgement and didn't receive any. Finally, she parked next to Connor and the autograph session began. So many fans approached her and wanted her signature on various items they had bought. It was fun in Cruz's opinion, however racing was the best as well.

"Oh look. It's Cruz Ramirez!" A little girl shouted excitedly. Cruz smiled and montioned for her to come to where she was. The little girl was holding a flag and wearing a hat, both with Cruz's picture on it.

"Do you like racing?" Cruz asked as she signed both of her items.

"I want to race." The little girl replied happily.

"Someday when your ready, I'll happily train you if you want me to."

The little girl smiled happily. Cruz gave her the contact information and her card. The young girl asked for a photo with Cruz before leaving the stadium. Cruz sighed tiredly. Within a few minutes, the last group of fans left and everything had been packed away.

"Wow, that was some session. Everyone likes you." Connor said.

"Yeah, but it's the same back home." Cruz replied. "At least everyone seems calm somewhat. At home, I always have to battle through the fans and camera flashes get in my way."

"It's not like that here though. Don't worry, everyone respects celebrities." Connor said. "Anyway, let's get back to the garage. We have to pack up and then we can have dinner at the hotel. Leland already made reservations for us."

**I'm so sorry for taking forever to update. Been busy for a while so my schedule controlled me. I know everyone is excited to finish reading the story so here's another chapter I've done. Hope your enjoying my story so far. Thank you for your patience. **


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